Saving You
by twitch42
Summary: Sasuke is tired of trying so hard and is about ready to quit. Naruto is the school's most popular student, who has a dark, untold secret sneaking up on him. When the two collide the result is terrible. AU *send me a msg for who should be seme/uke!*
1. Chapter 1: Keeping Silent

This is my first, more than one chapter story. I have been attempting to get over a block for it so if you have any ideas please send them to me through a review. I know it's short and I am sorry. If you review and tell me you like it then I will try to make them longer. Again, sorry! *bows apologetically*

WARNING!!: This story is mainly yaoi, manXman, or in this case boyXboy sex and relationships and shit like that. Also, this story is very angsty for ppl under…possibly thirteen or fourteen so I advise you be an older reader.

Disclaimer: I do not, and I doubt I ever shall own Naruto and any of his sexy accompanying character mates.

Saving You

Chapter One: Keeping Silent

'Damn! He never shuts up, does he?' a black haired boy thought to himself, as he stared down at his lunch, his hands clenched into fists on either sides of his tray. Directly behind him sat a loud, bright haired blonde who continued to chat excessively even though the cafeteria supervisor was trying to catch their attention.

All around him sat teenagers his own age, but despite that fact he choose to sit in his usual spot, where it was normally it was nice and quiet, to wait for his friends. But today the school's most popular rich kid had chosen to sit at the table behind his.

God his life sucks.

Yep, that's right, Sasuke Uchiha, hates the most popular kid at Konoha Academy. Self-centered, self-confident, ignorant, arrogant, idiotic, and stubborn…Naruto Uzumaki. Not that that was news to anyone who had a class with the two of them.

Three things happened suddenly, a particularly high pitched cackle erupted from the blonde morons table, he got a temple throbbing headache, and two people sat down at his table. He groaned and let his head fall forward, a 'crack' quivering in the air when his forehead hit the edge of the table. He sat like that for a couple moments, while the other two people stared at him.

Finally he raised his head and sighing said, "Hey…."

After looking at him for a moment they both replied rather timidly, "Hey."

Sasuke slowly pulled himself upright, wincing at the pain in his head, and leaned back in his chair, gazing at his two closest friends sitting across from him.

One the right sat Shikamaru. A solitary kid, who rarely spoke, yet had an I.Q. of 210; he had become one of Sasuke's closest confidents. He was wearing his usual pair of black denim shorts and a deep forest green shirt, with a black ski vest with tons of pockets over the shirt.

He kept his long jagged cut hair in a high pony-tail on the back of his head and had his usual look of boredom upon his face as he picked at his pile of slop that the school called a lunch.

Sitting next to Shikamaru was one of the hottest and mysterious guys in the school. Wearing a pair of dark black jeans and a deep rust brown shirt with a pair of black SNEAUX SHOES, staring out the window behind Sasuke was Gaara KazeKage.

All in all they were three of the most sought after guys in their grade, even if they never talked to anyone. The only reason they didn't have girls breathing down their necks was, sadly enough, thanks to all the popular kids.

Of all the guys in the school, the most wanted one was…Itachi Uchiha. Yes, god help us all…it was his brother. He was a senior and every girl in the school wanted him. Tall, dark, handsome, and curiously kind to everyone. He was constantly followed by at least one of the members of his gang. Yet another reason he was popular, people thought that because he was a gang that he was hot shit. Oh...how wrong they were…

The next most wanted was the one, the only, Naruto Uzumaki. For years he had been considered a freak, until he disappeared for a year and a half. When he came back he was completely different person. Instead of the vibrant, energetic young kid, who was always seeking attention, he was now a quiet, unresponsive, with-drawn man.

It seemed over the year and a half that he had disappeared, he had been changed greatly. As he started to withdraw into himself, he stopped caring about how he looked. Instead of trying to style his hair, he had let it spike out like it usually did once he just woke up. He also stopped wearing geeky clothes, and started to dress in baggier jeans and normal tees with hoddies, almost as though he was trying to hide from everyone. Unfortuneatly, if that was his plan, it back-fired completely.

His sudden and abrupt change in behavior had all the girls talking about him, and it just got worse when he started wearing cooler clothes. Finally one girl got up the courage to ask him out, only to be harshly rejected. Over the past couple years though, he had started to warm up, and was now going out with the very chick he had rejected before.

Sasuke slowly came out of his reverie, blinking slowly, before asking Shikamaru, "You aren't really going to eat that are you?"

Shikamaru looked up at him, down at his food, then back at him before shoving it away and slumping down in his seat, staring about gloomily. "No."

"Let's get out of here."

Startled, Shikamaru jumped and Sasuke lifted his head. Gaara had spoken. It rarely happened in the presence of others, but when it did, it was best to do as he suggested.

Grabbing their trays they stood up, and as Sasuke turned, he slammed into someone, spilling the contents of his tray all over them. He closed his eyes and sighed, waiting for the confrontation was inevitable.

"Fucking asshole!" a voice sounded in front of him, making Sasuke open his eyes and look up. In front of him stood Naruto, in all his wonderful glory, covered in a deep red sauce that looked very much like blood. Sasuke stared at Naruto, feeling his heart pound at the sight of the foxy blonde covered in spaghetti sauce, noodles dripping from atop his head.

Quickly turning away from the sight, he started to walk towards the doors, his head feeling strangely light. Before he got even two feet away, he was jerked to a halt by a hand on the hood of his black hoodie, pulling him backwards, almost chocking him in the process.

"Where do you think you're going asshole? You got spaghetti sauce on my new jacket and now your gonna pay for it!" Naruto spoke from behind him.

Oh yeah, did he forget to mention that while he had also warmed up some, he had become an absolute asshole? Well, now you know. Refusing to turn around for fear he would lose it, Sasuke stilled and stared at the ground.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Naruto switched his grip to Sasuke's upper arm and attempted to turn him around to face him.

Sasuke remained absolutely stone-faced as he quickly whirled around, his fist raised, smashing it into Naruto's face. Before anyone could try to interfere, he had turned back around and grabbed his tray, walking out the door with his friends' in tow.

Naruto was kneeling on the ground, a couple girls gathered around him, holding his now soiled jacket sleeve to his bleeding nose, trying to stop the flow. He snorted, wincing when that caused pain to shoot up into his forehead, and pushed himself up onto his feet, and walked back to his table where his best friends Kiba and Neji sat, waiting for him.

As he picked up his tray, he muttered something about going to the nurse's office and quickly left the cafeteria, his nose still spouting blood. Once he had left, the noise that had disappeared when the confrontation started, came back quickly building into a buzz of noise as the two friends watched Naruto disappear through the doors.

"Well, that was interesting huh?" Kiba asked, shoving a piece of taco into his face.

Neji nodded, thinking about what he had just watched.

~*~*~

Sasuke panted heavily as he leaned back against the wall, his heart slowly returning to its regular pace as the light-headed and euphoric feeling passed. He slowly pushed himself up off the bathroom wall and pulled down the sleeves of his hoodie, flipping up the hood as well. Looking in the mirror to make sure that no one could see anything other that his pale face and some of his hair, he walked out into the school's courtyard. Just outside the bathroom was Shikamaru, standing next to the door, smoking a fag.

"Hey."

Shikamaru glanced at him before taking a long drag on is cigarette. "Gaara had to leave. Something about a report being due today in class, I dunno…"

Sasuke leaned against the building next to him and stole the fag from between his fingers and took a quick drag on it before handing it. "That's alright…"

Shikamaru looked over at him once more, his gaze straying to his forehead as a small river of blood worked its way down his face, the wound on his forehead still bleeding from where he banged it against the table edge.

"You might want to get that looked at." He said slowly, pointing to the deep cut that ran horizontally down his forehead, slicing through his left eyebrow.

Sasuke reached up and wiped away some blood, bringing it down in front of his eyes. He stared at it curiously, for a moment before sighing and shoving away from the wall. As he walked down the hall Shikamaru called out after him, "Where're you going?"

"To get it looked at!" he called back in a slightly higher pitched voice, mocking the brillant boy as he disappeared around the corner.

-snuggles cute neko Naru to self before sees readers staring oddly at me- He's mine!

Sasuke pops up out of nowhere -** No. He. Is. MINE!!**

-cowers under Sasukes wrath and pushes Naru towards him- Fine...

Sasuke cuddles Naruto to him, before staring at readers. -**Review, it keeps her sane...ish.**

Please review, I need to know if this is any good! I switched the characters a couple times, so PLEASE let me know if something is wrong, and i will change it asap.

BYE!!


	2. Chapter 2: It's All Your Fault

Okay so here's my second chapter, of **Saving You**. Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: And once again I don't own Naru or Sasu. *goes and bawls in corner*

Saving You

Chapter 2: It's All Your Fault

* * *

He sighed and pulled his out his head phones, placing them in his ears and scanning through the songs on his Ipod, picked 'PlAy DeAd' by H.I.M. As he walked through the courtyard to the main building where the nurses office was, the drum beats pounded against his eardrums.

_..a moth into a butterfly_

_and a lie into the sweetest truth,_

_i'm so afraid of life,_

_I try to call your name but i'm silenced_

_by the fear of dying in your heart-_

As he pushed open the door that led into the nurse's office, he lifted his head and found himself staring into icy blue eyes that could only belong to one person, Naruto. Before he could react he was punched directly in the face, and sent flying. His ear phones fell out and he lost his grip on his Ipod, and watched horrified as it skidded across the floor. Time seemed to slow as his Ipod came safely to a stop, only to be crushed under the foot of the nurse who had just walked through the door, his nose buried in a book.

Sasuke froze, his hand still reaching out to catch his Ipod, his fingers quivering as blood dripped down off his nose onto the floor. With an eerie sounding growl, he whirled around and jumped to his feet in one quick move. He threw himself at Naruto who was staring down at the crushed Ipod with a smug expression on his face. It quickly disappeared when Sasuke collided with him, sending them both flying to the floor.

They were punching at any part of the other's body they could reach when all of a sudden they were lifted off the floor, hanging by their shirt collars/hoods.

"Will you two knock it off?! I'm trying to read here!"

They both froze and turned their heads to look at the nurse, who had a murderous expression on his face. At almost the exact same time they started shouting out excuses, pointing at each other.

"Enough!!" Silence echoed through the small room again, as both boys' quieted and looked down at the floor solemnly. "I've had enough of this! You both are going to the principal!"

Naruto spoke up, closely followed by Sasuke. "But what about my nose?" he asked.

"Yeah, I cracked my head open. I think that deserves to be looked at." Sasuke stated blandly, twisting around to stare at the nurse.

The nurse stared down at them for a moment before saying, "I don't care. I come into my office, and find you two rolling around on the floor, trying to re-enact the WWE Smack Down and now you expect me to care? Well, think again. The only person who you're gonna be talking to is Principal Arai. He'll figure out what to do with you two idiots."

With that said, he frog-marched them out the door and down the hallways to the front office. When they got to the office, he shoved them down in a couple of seats saying, "Don't move a muscle."

With that, he walked down the hall and knocked on the last door before pushing it open and disappearing inside. As the door shut behind him, the only sound that could be heard was the shallow, and clogged breathing of the two teens sitting in the chairs.

"This is all your fault." Naruto told him out of no where, slumping in his chair.

Sasuke looked over at him out of the corner of his eye, before replying quietly, "How?"

Naruto sighed and let his head fall backwards to thump against the wall. "It's your fault because you sat behind me today in the cafeteria, and spilled your-whatever the hell it was, onto my shirt."

That finally got Sasuke's attention and he slowly turned his head to look at Naruto, blinking as he did so.

"Say that again?" he said, giving Naruto his best glare. Unfortunately it was ruined by a sudden wave of dizziness that crashed over him, sending him reeling backwards against the wall. He clutched his head and fought back black dots that were suddenly all over his vision.

He jumped when felt a hand on his shoulder, making his head jerk up, bashing his hurt forehead against Naruto's, sending sprawling to the floor. Sasuke hastily got to his feet, ignoring a new wave of nausea, an extended a hand to help Naruto to his feet.

"Sorry, you startled me."

Naruto looked at him before nodding slowly. "Yeah, sure, okay….so….are you alright?" he asked, hesitantly.

Sasuke looked up from where he had slid down the wall to sit on the floor. This was the first for him, no one had ever cared whether or not he was alright. Even if he thought back as far as he was able and there was never anyone who cared. He stared at Naruto for a moment before looking down and fiddling with his sleeves while replying, "Yeah,….I-I'm fine."

But apparently this wasn't his day because as soon as the words passed his lips, a new wave of dizziness washed over him. He sighed and leaned back against the wall fully, resting his head on his knees, which were pulled up against his chest. He turned his head to the side when he heard Naruto slide down to sit next to him, and looked at him with eyes dulled with a hazy fog.

With a deep, heaving sigh Naruto copied Sasuke's position and asked, "No your not. What's really wrong, and don't lie to me."

With an emotionless scoff Sasuke turned away and started fiddling with his sleeves again. "Trust me, you don't want to know. And even if you did, " Sasuke added when Naruto opened his mouth to comment. "my problems are way more than your pretty, blonde head can comprehend." He told him, not unkindly.

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but was unable to say anything because at that very moment, the door to the principal's office opened and out walked the principal saying, "Thanks again for bringing them in Kakashi. I really appreciate it."

Coming out behind him, Kakashi laughed and rubbed the back of his neck in modesty. " No need to thank me, the way they were going at it, it seemed this has been going on for some time."

Completely ignoring the two boy's staring at him, Kakashi walked over to the door and pushed it open. Before walking out he looked over his shoulder and said, "And if you ever need anything, Iruka, you know where to find me." With that said, he walked out the door, letting it swing shut behind him just as the bell rang, muffling the sounds that started to pour in from the hallway.

Both of them stared horrified at the door their nurse had just walked out before turning their creeped out gazes on their principal. They looked almost exactly the same, the same position, the wide-eyed expression at what just happened between their male principal and their male nurse, and the blood smeared faces. Naruto was the first to speak up.

"Wow, so…..you and Kakashi huh? Now that's something new."

Sasuke snorted in agreement, before burying his head in his arms once more as his ears started ringing. He was soooo not feeling good.

Iruka laughed softly, his face terrifyingly serious. "You two seem to be getting along better as well. Last time both you were in my office you were shouting obscenities at each other."

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other for a moment before noticing how close Naruto had sat to Sasuke, which sent them both scrambling backwards. Sasuke sent a glare at Iruka that could kill and pushed himself up onto his feet, swaying slightly as he did so.

Naruto copied him and slouched against the wall, while asking, "So, what's our punishment this time?…Iruka." He smirked as he added that last part.

"Well Naruto since none of my other punishments have worked on you two, I've decided that I'm not gonna do anything. I'm gonna give you a choice and it's up to you whether or not you choose to take it." He paused to beam at them, obviously incredibly happy about his plan.

"Both of you are in danger of failing this grade and having to repeat it. I have a proposition for you, if you two can work together to finish it, I'll count it as enough credits for you to finish out this year and graduate with your….friends."

Sasuke finally sighed and rolled his eyes, "Will you please just get to the point already?"

"Yeah, stop twinkle-toeing around the subject. Tell us what this project is so we can leave. I have to get to football practice."

Iruka sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine…I want you two to do a report on how living with someone the complete opposite has changed you."

Naruto stared at him, his brow furrowed in confusion, while Sasuke understood at once, his eyes going wide with horror.

The principal smiled when he saw Sasuke's horrified gaze and said, "Remember this is completely optional. You don't have to do it."

"Do what? I don't get it. What do you mean, someone who's our complete opposite? You know I don't live with anyone like that."

Iruka's smile got even wider and he told Naruto, "You two are going to live together for the rest of the year, which, significantly, is about 2 months. At the end of those 2 months, I want both of you to write a report on how it will have changed you. If it's really good, your going to present it at the graduation ceremony, if you want to of course."

All Sasuke heard was them having to live together for two months, and his ears started ringing. He stumbled back, his back slamming into the wall, as a new wave of nausea and dizziness crashed over him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Naruto's rather concerned face.

"Hey….are you alright?"

Sasuke gave him a quizzical look, wondering why he sounded so far away. He sighed softly as he was finally able to let the darkness overcome his vision. He slumped forwards, his head falling to rest on Naruto's shoulder, leaning heavily against him.

Right away, Naruto stiffened, and was about to shove him off of him when he noticed how shallow his breathing was. Making sure not to jostle Sasuke too much, he slowly lowered him to the ground, kneeling down next to him. He looked up when he felt someone's gaze on him, and met the thoughtful gaze of the principal.

"Um, don't you think you should be calling an ambulance or something?" He snapped, mostly just to hide how nervous he was.

"Oh, yes, right."

Iruka turned and walked briskly back to his office where he picked up the phone and called, 911. From the front of the office, Naruto could hear the strains of their principals' conversation, as he stared down at the face of his worst enemy.

As he looked down at Sasuke's bloody face, he started thinking. _'What's wrong with you? Is it some kind of illness or something? Or is it something to do with what Iruka-sensei said? Does the thought of me repulse you that much?'_ As he pondered, he realized that the red-head's face was crusted with dried blood. He reached to grab the water bottle he had placed on the side table when they were brought in. He looked around for a rag and spotting none, he sighed and poured some water onto the sleeve of his long-sleeve shirt that he was wearing under his jacket.

He gently started wiping the blood off his face, being careful of his bruises. He exhaled largely when he finished and was about to get up and see where that ambulance was when he noticed that Sasuke also had blood on his hands, from wiping them down his face.

He reached down and pulled his hands into his lap and set to work, cleaning them. He frowned when he noticed that the blood had trickled down his arms, under the sleeves of his hoodie. He sighed in defeat and started to push up the sleeves.

Naruto froze when he saw the scars criss-crossing over his forearms.

* * *

Naruto: why the hell am I being so nice? I thought I hated him?!

Twitch: because he's so cute… and you can't resist him! Mwahaha!

Naruto: Shut up! I do not!

Sasuke pops up: Yes you do. -tugs Naruto into his arms, plastering him to his chest-

Naruto: -flames a bright red and starts struggling, before being pulled into a kiss by Sasuke-

Twitch:-grins as the two begin making out- yes you do! Yes you do! I make the plot line and you _do_! Hahah! NaruSasu love all the time! - turns away as shirts start coming off as well as other things- Please review! They keep me going.

BYE!!


	3. Chapter 3: Blood and Tears

Ohayo wonderful people!!! I decided to upload the next chapter early, really early, because I am so thankful to you guys. I got reviews in just one night which was amazing to a new author like them. I sincerely appreciate it and hope you continue to do so. However, please do not expect weekly uploads like this all the time because I assure you, you will be disappointed. Secondly, I know these chapters are rather short but it's mainly because I wrote them two years or so ago. They will hopefully get longer and I will try to update at LEAST every two months, but no promises.

**I wanna send a special thank you to yaoirulz especially sasUKE** **who helped me realise a couple mistakes in this chapter. *bows in thanks* arigato.**

Oh and cause I do believe I forgot this in previous chapters,

**Warning:** This story contains boy-on-boy, obviously, and intense mutilation, possible rape, gangs, murder, and other such graphic icky things that make a story wonderful.

Now please enjoy.

Disclaimer: -stares with arms crossed at cops, who sit across from me at an interrogation table- …fine. I do not own Naruto or any of the other magnificent characters. Happy? –mumbles- jerks…

* * *

**Saving You**

Chapter 3: Blood and Tears

* * *

Naruto hurriedly pushed the sleeves up the rest of the way, gawking when he saw the multitude of scars running all the way up Sasuke's arms, probably even continuing up under the hoodie, all the way to his shoulders. As he sat and studied them, he realized that he could almost tell how long ago they had been made. The oldest ones were stark white against his already pale skin, and the newest ones were the incredibly red, angry ones. He could easily tell which ones had just been inflicted recently, because they were a harsh, vibrant red and puckered up above the others. Blood was slowly trickling out of a wound on his left arm, right at the bend of the elbow, and Naruto winced at the sight of it. It couldn't be more than a couple hours old, which meant that the raven was inflicting self-mutilation on himself in the school.

He clenched his jaw and gently, very gently, started to run his wet sleeve over the multiple lacerations, wincing as the warm liquid seeped through his shirt sleeve, feeling the deadly warmth soaking his fingertips. When he had finally cleaned all of the dried blood off Sasuke, he looked around the office for something that he could use to tie off the still bleeding wounds. Finding nothing he could use, he groaned and looked down at the unconscious boy, who had been moved during this process so that his head was now resting gently in Naruto's lap.

"You owe me teme. And if you don't pay up I'll bash your head in." He told him not unkindly, brushing a stray piece of hair out of the unconscious boy's face. His eyes were drawn to a line of read along the boy's forehead and he gently moved the inky black tresses out of the way. His eyes tightened and lines of regret formed on his face. In the middle of his forehead was a huge cut that was most likely going to scar if it didn't get stitches, and it instantly made him regret the words he had uttered only moments before.

He grabbed his shirt sleeve angrily and ripped the whole sleeve out, all the way from the shoulder seam. Muttering random obscenities, he started ripping strips out of the material and quickly wrapped them around the open wounds on Sasuke's arm. Despite the harsh words that flowed from his mouth, his hands were oddly gentle as they bandaged up the other boy.

Once he had all the cuts bandaged, he stood up and walked over to the secretary's desk, throwing the rest of his tattered away. He looked at the clock and almost smiled, he had already missed the rest of his classes and half of his football practice, thanks to the weirdo laying on the floor.

"Well, it seems that the ambulance is waiting out front but they can't get through. Too many students." Iruka's voice sounded from the back of the room, and Naruto froze, his eyes flashing back to the cuts and wraps on Sasuke's exposed arms.

As Iruka's footsteps came closer, Naruto decided to risk looking gay and soft and dove towards Sasuke, quickly pulling the sleeves of his hoodie down, careful not to disturb any of the recently made bandages. He grabbed his jacket and shoved his arms through the sleeves, hiding the ripped shirt from the principal's view. Looking down at the raven headed boy, he stood and muttered, "I oughta kick your ass for all the crap you're putting me through. I'm gonna have a heart-attack by the time I'm done with this."

When Iruka came into the main office, Naruto was leaning up against the wall and Sasuke was laying on the ground where Naruto had left him. After a semi-uncomfortable silence in which the principal stared at his two students with a obvious curiosity, Naruto finally spoke.

"I think I can fix the crowd situation, but it might take a couple minutes." He said, pushing himself up off the wall, walking towards the phone sitting on the secretary's desk.

He quickly punched in two numbers and within a couple seconds, he was off the phone and standing by the door, looking out the glass pane next to it.

"What's going on?" the principal asked, frowning when Naruto ignored him. He really needed to work on intimidating his students, he got no respect with how he acted now. After a few minutes, Naruto stepped away from the door, only to have it swing open to reveal Gaara.

"Hey dobe, what do you want?" Gaara asked, indifferently.

Naruto shifted his weight from foot to foot, his hands clenched tightly at his sides. "Umm…well, we kind of have a problem." He muttered, avoiding Gaara's piercing gaze. He shot a death glare at the principals' suddenly retreating back, before turning to face Gaara.

With a gulp, he shuffled to the side, letting Gaara look upon Sasuke's prone body. He watched as Gaara's eyes widened slightly, showing his shock.

Gaara walked over to his unconscious friend and kneeled down beside him. Looking over his body, he noticed that his pale skin was slightly pink, smeared with remnants of blood. With cold teal eyes that were as hard as ice, he looked up at Naruto and asked in a voice completely devoid of any emotion.

"What did you do?"

Naruto felt his pulse quicken at the underlying threat in Gaara's voice and suppressed a shiver while saying in his usual stupid-jock voice, "Nothing! For real! We got in a fight in the nurse's office and dragged down here. We got dished our punishment and then the next thing I know, the dude's practically on top of me, out cold."

He felt Gaara's calculating gaze on his form and sighed in relief when he broke it, deciding he was telling the truth. Lifting one of the unconscious boy's arms into his lap, he checked for a pulse, noticing the ends of one of the bandages hanging out. He pulled back the sleeve to reveal the slightly spoiled bandages. Giving a small, imperceptible nod, Gaara pulled down the sleeve of Sasuke's hoodie again, removing the shirt strips from sight before he turned to face Naruto.

"What do you want?"

Naruto shifted from foot to foot, watching as Gaara leaned against the wall. He noticed that the red head kept a bit of a defensive stance over the fallen boy, even when sitting against the wall, and it started a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. Pushing the feeling to the back of his mind he replied. "Well, there's an ambulance waiting for him outside, but all the student out there are blocking the way."

Gaara stared up at him blankly. "And I have what to do with this?"

Naruto sighed, "I need you to convince his brother to help move the crowd." He muttered hurriedly, pushing out the words.

"Are you NUTS!!"

Gaara's scream reverberated off the walls, leaving Naruto cringing against the desk behind him, as Gaara continued shouting at him, something that few people ever got to see. As it was Naruto was shocked. He had no idea that Gaara could be so loud.

"You want me to talk to his brother! The frinkin' gang leader? I don't even go home with Sasuke because he is there, that's how frickin' crazy he is. You've got to be kidding me!" As he ranted, Gaara reached up and began pulling at his hair, trying to relieve the tension in his body through that.

"But that's the whole point. You have to convince him to go out there. People practically bow before him. All you have to do is get him to move the people out of the way, so we can get him into the ambulance. We have no idea how much blood he's lost. His life could depend on this." Naruto pleaded.

"Yeah, but…then...he'll" Gaara tried to explain, his excuses becoming weaker and weaker as he looked at Sasuke's pale face and listen to Naruto's explanations. Finally he sighed and whispered, "Fine…I'll do it."

"Good." Naruto said. "Because here comes Itachi now."

"What!? What were you going to do if I said no?"

"Tell him the principal wanted to talk to him and then run like hell." He replied, utterly serious, falling silent as the door was pushed open.

Itachi walked through the door, pausing only when he saw his unconscious brother on the floor, looking all but dead. "Well, isn't that interesting." He said, his face remaining stoic.

As he stared down at Sasuke, two people slipped in behind him and stood back against the wall, observing the happenings. After staring down at Sasuke for a while, Itachi finally turned to his brother's friend who flinched under his gaze.

"Gaara…" he drawled out, sending horrified shivers down the poor boy's spine. "What are you doing here?"

Gaara stared up at Itachi, his whole body beginning to shake as he tried to explain. "Well…ah…see…umm…Sasuke...um…he…" he stumbled, his face becoming flushed when Itachi continued to stare down at him.

Itachi looked over his shoulder at the two guys leaning against the wall and smirked, "Did you understand that?"

Snickering slightly, both shook their heads.

"Hmm, thought not." Itachi muttered.

Gaara who was still staring at his friend's brother when he felt a presence behind him. Swiveling his head to look behind him, he saw that Naruto had moved behind him and when the blonde noticed his gaze he kneeled down next to him. He followed Naruto's gaze to Sasuke and found that his body stopped shaking as he gazed down at his friends' face.

"Remember, he needs your help. You're can help him, if you do this." Naruto whispered lowly, before backing away when Itachi turned back to Gaara.

"I think I know how to fix our little communication problem." He told them, completely ignoring his brother on the floor as he stepped over his body to kneel next to Gaara. He leaned forward and whispered, "How about you tell me in my ear…, and then no one else needs to know." His lips brushed against the ridges of his ear as he talked. Before leaning back to look into Gaara's eyes, he ran his tongue up and along the shell of his ear.

Gaara shuddered at the feeling of Itachi's tongue on his ear but shoved him away, his other hand going up to wipe the wetness away. "Itachi, I need a favor." He held his gaze for the first time in a long time. Before he could interrupt him, he hurried on, his gaze going to Sasuke. "Sasuke's in it in a really bad way and you can help." Gaara told him, playing with the bluenette's heads hair, twirling it around his fingers as he talked. "He's lost a lot of blood and needs medical help. There's an ambulance waiting for him outside, but there's too many people in the way. We need you to get everyone out of the way so we can get him out of here…Without causing too much of a commotion."

The room filled with silence as Itachi stared at Gaara who refused to meet his gaze, instead staring down at the slumbering boy by his knees. Eventually Gaara risked a glance up, briefly looking Itachi in the eye. Apparently he found something he was looking for in Gaara's eyes, because after sighing he nodded, "Alright, fine. Deidera! Kisame! Go and find Zetsu and Sasori, then bring them here." He ordered.

Without a word they turned and walked out the door, no doubt going to find the afore mentioned two. Silence coated the room, the only sound was Sasuke's harsh, ragged breathing. Within two minutes Deidera and Kisame walked back in with two people Naruto could only assume were Zetsu and Sasori. Without any preamble, Itachi started giving out orders. Both Gaara and Naruto watched as though in a fog, their main focus was Sasuke.

While they had been waiting for Deidera and Kisame to return, Sasuke's breathing had become shallower and now when Naruto kneeled and pulled up the sleeve of his arm, he saw that the cuts were bleeding through his make-shift bandages. He frowned and gently began to unwrap the soaked ones. Once he had all the bandages off, he ripped off his other sleeve and began to rewrap the wounds. Gaara sat and watched Naruto work, his eyes narrowing when Naruto revealed all the cuts and scars on his arms. He suppressed a hiss at the sight of the newest cuts, which he knew had to have been inflicted earlier that day. He felt a small tweak of guilt in his heart at the fact that he hadn't been there to stop him. They were angry and raised, but Naruto didn't even seemed fazed, he just wrapped them up a second time, before carefully pulling Sasuke's sleeves back down.

Itachi watched with calculating eyes as Naruto began to change the bandages, noticing that the unruly blonde was practically a different person around his little brother. He looked gazed down at his lashes at his brother's best friend, studying his reaction to what the boy was doing. Gaara was watching Naruto work on Sasuke with the same intense gaze Itachi was watching him with. He looked around and saw Sasori come back through the door. He nodded at Itachi, who nodded back, before turning to his brother and Naruto.

"They're getting ready to make the path. We just have to get him down there. So...who's carrying him?" he asked, looking around the office, noticing that the principal had finally crept back into the room. _'Pfff, wimp.'_ He thought to himself.

The first one to speak up was actually the principal himself, probably just to remind them that he was supposed to be in charge. Key words, supposed to be. "I would, but I think I might end up dropping him on the way down the stairs. I need to be able to see my feet otherwise I fall." He admitted, embarrassed.

"I can't carry him either." Gaara spoke up. "We tried it last year, just for fun, but the only one of us who could carry anyone, was Sasuke."

Itachi opened his mouth and was about to offer when he noticed that everyone was looking at him with an, 'as-if' expression. They wouldn't let him near his little brother for anything. All except Gaara who was glaring at him with a look that could kill. And so that left…Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "And that leaves me. Well, I wouldn't have a problem with it. He can't weigh more than 140 lbs. I can lift twice that."

The principal smiled in relief, happy to be able to do something. At least, that's what it seemed like in his mind. "Alright then, let's get going."

Everyone looked at him with disbelief, before deciding to ignore him completely and turned back to the situation at hand. Naruto looked around, and seeing that there was really no one that would be able to help him carry the raven, sighed realizing that he would have to lift him all by himself. Not that he couldn't do it; it was just…it would look…Gah, nevermind. He turned to the others.

" 'kay, so I need the rest of you to go down help clear the passageway except….Gaara and….Itachi. You two can make sure that no one gets close enough to get a good enough look at him. Keep everyone away, alright?"

Everyone nodded, Gaara a little less enthusiastically then everyone else and they shuffled out the door. Naruto bent down and brushed hair out of his eyes, staring down at the black haired boy.

'_You're more trouble than your worth…at least I think…'_ He thought, kneeling down to pick him up.

Gathering him in his arms, he was surprised at how light he was when he stood. Even as a dead weight, Naruto could barely tell that he was there. He was jerked out of his thoughts by a cough at the door, and he turned to see Itachi standing there, Gaara standing right behind him.

"We're ready."

He nodded and carefully maneuvered himself and the body he was holding out the door. Walking down the hallway, he stepped down the stairs and stopped right next to the main front doors. He stared down at the pale boy in his arms and wondered for the first time, _'Is he __really__ worth it?' _The thought shocked him. The whole time in the office taking care of him, he hadn't even thought about it. At least, not like that. When they were in the office it had been okay, because the only other person there had been Iruka, but now it was……everyone.

His whole reputation could be shot, rumors that he was gay or that he was starting to care for the asshole. He could hear the shouts and screams of his friends and peers, even though the thick walls of the school were in the way. Everything that had changed over the past couple of years could be ruined if he did this. Was he really ready to risk it all? He stood there, staring down at Sasuke until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and turned around quickly, his face pale.

Itachi looked down at him for a moment, before reaching out to take Sasuke. "I'll do it." He murmured. "You guys keep them away, until we get him in the ambulance." Taking the black haired boy in his arms, his eyes widened when he realized that the kid couldn't weigh more than 105 lbs. Even though it appeared he didn't care for his little brother, in actuality he did. He was the only family he had left and apparently he needed to spend more time around home, his little brother clearly couldn't care for himself, especially if this situation was to go by.

Naruto gave a sigh that shuddered throughout his whole body before nodding with Gaara.

* * *

Itachi stalked out the doors and into the crowd, his face a composed mask as the others shoved people out of his way, and blocking the ones that tried to get a look at whoever he was carrying. They had almost made it to the sidewalk where the ambulance was waiting, when someone burst out of the crowd. Gaara tried to intercept him but was punched in the face and sent sprawling. The kid ran towards Itachi and Sasuke, almost making it to them, his arms raised in an angry gesture, when Kisame appeared out of nowhere in between them. In his hand he held a gun, the barrel of which was pressed firmly into the kid's chest.

"Go Itachi. Get him to the ambulance." He muttered, staring at the boy.

Itachi nodded and walked past, brushing his shoulder against Kisame's along with a muttered, "Yea…" As he walked over to the ambulance, he glanced over his shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Kisame had pushed the kid back towards his friends and was following him, his gun hidden.

Reaching the ambulance he carefully handed the raven haired boy over to the EMT's stepping back to let them work. Gaara reached his side and stood next to him, watching worriedly as they lifted his friend into the ambulance. It pulled away from the curb, sirens wailing, rushing off down the street. They stood there staring after it till they could no longer see it.

Raising his eyebrows at the amusing way his afternoon had gone, Itachi turned to Gaara. "So, wanna go see a movie?"

* * *

Sasuke turns to look at me: I hate you. You make me sound like a weak bitch.

Twitch smiles: Ah, that's because you are.

Naruto bursts out laughing: Hahaha! Take that teme!!!

Sasuke stares at Naruto: You're an idiot.

Naruto growls: How's that?

Sasuke: Obviously she's putting you in a relationship with me. And I can take your ass down, as proven in previous chapters, so you'd be uke.

Naruto sputters incoherently.

Twitch smirks and waves to readers: Thanks for reading please review!!

BYE!!!


	4. Creepy Hospitals Cause Scary Consequence

Hey guys! Thank you so much for reviewing! I feels so loved. *sobs* But anyways, thank you to those who pointed out the slight errors in the chapters before. I went back and tried to find them all so hopefully everything flows together now and makes much more sense. I wrote this beginning to the story so long ago I almost completely forgot what I wanted to do with it so it may take me a while to get the chapters posted so bare with me. I am sorry about the wait but I have so much crap going on right now. I am hoping to get a job over the summer working weekends but its not determined right now and then I have so many tests and school work thrown on me that I am barely keeping my head up. *sighs*

Anyways, sorry about that. I felt an incredible need to vent and it just came out. If you feel the injustice as well, feel free to mail me or review. But on to the story! In this chapter things get a tad tense and there are some things that are revealed in skirted little bits, if I am remembering right. Hope you enjoy!

**WARNINGS**: Yaoi, angst, hospital scene, blood and gore, all that wonderful jazz.

Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto otherwise many of the stupid girls would have to resort to sex toys. *evil grin*

Saving You

Chapter 4: Creepy Hospitals Cause Scary Consequences

* * *

A loud obnoxious beeping filled the air, followed softly by the rustling of clothes as nurses paced the length of the hallways hurriedly. In a small chair in the corner sat Naruto, staring around himself with wide, nervous eyes, jumping at every little thing that happened by him. With a sigh he buried his head in his hands, the long digits threading through and pulling at the tresses with ease. He had absolutely no idea why he was still here, or why he came here to begin with. Suddenly a loud bang echoed throughout the room as a janitor tossed a bag of trash into his bin, making Naruto jump out of his skin.

Looking around quickly as if expecting to be attacked, Naruto stood and walked over to the reception desk, quickly beginning to speak to the woman there. As he did this, he was completely unaware of the eyes that stalked his every move.

From across the room, jade eyes watched with great interest as the blonde jumped and fidgeted at every single noise that spilled into the waiting area. Gaara laughed inside his mind when he saw the blonde twitch when another reasonably loud noise broke through the silence when a doctor came through the swinging doors. Truth be told he had no idea why the blonde was there, but hell if it wasn't amusing to watch. An eyebrow quirked itself when he saw that Naruto had finished speaking to the receptionist and, instead of heading out the doors like Gaara thought he would, staggered over to the horridly uncomfortable plastic chairs before basically falling into one.

Heaving a quiet sigh, he pushed away from the wall he had been leaning on and stalked over to the pathetic blonde, choosing to stand before him instead of sitting in the nasty red chair.

"Blondie."

Lifting his head out of his hands once more, Naruto looked up to meet the chilly gaze directed at him. "Gaara," he acknowledged.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Naruto started at the cool tone and blunt question, "What do you mean? Why wouldn-"

"You don't belong here. You don't even like Sasuke. You treated him like shit for the past four years; spewing egotistical shit at him, beating him up and leaving him in even worse shape than he already was. You don't give a single thought to the reason why he never fights back, or to why the simplest things hurt him. So why the hell are you sitting in a waiting room, freaking yourself out about every little thing that happens? Just go the fuck home. Your no use here and Sasuke sure as hell won't want you here." With that said, Gaara turned and strolled away, leaving a distressed and utterly confused blonde behind him.

Staring around himself, Naruto took in the waiting room; the blank white walls, the quiet whispers of people waiting for horrible news, the horrible bleached scent. And he realized something. Gaara was right. He had no reason to be here and had no idea why he was. He owned the raven headed boy behind the doors nothing and yet here he was torturing himself. He had better things to do than sit in a waiting room for someone who didn't even like him. That's right, with a nod of his head, Naruto pushed himself up onto his feet and began to make his way towards the front doors that would lead to his freedom and sanity. But just as he was about to push them open and walk out of the nightmare, a doctor walked into the room and called out, "Sasuke Uchiha's family?"

As soon as he heard that the blond froze, remembering something that had happened earlier.

_Naruto turned to leave, finally glad to be away from all the drama now that the emo boy was packed up and sent to the hospital. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep, maybe eat if he had the energy to make himself something. However he didn't get two feet before a cold voice called him back. _

_"Uzumaki."_

_Feeling dread begin to trickle its' way down his spine, the boy turned and looked up at Itachi Uchiha. Unable to control the annoyance he felt, he growled out. "What?"_

_Itachi's eyes narrowed and he stepped forward, threateningly. "You better watch your tone Uzumaki, or **you **might find yourself in the hospital."_

_The blonde's eyes widened considerably as he finally remembered who he was talking to. "Sorry Uchiha-sama. You wanted something?" he asked, bowing slightly in a show of apology. _

_With a smirk, Itachi leaned forward and answered. "Yes. Unfortunately I have some...business to take care of and therefore cannot go to the hospital to be with my brother. So I want you to go and make sure that he is alright. Once you do that you call me and then you may leave. But not until then."_

_Naruto bristled at the condescending tone that was directed at him, "And what if I don't want to?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow._

_Looking behind the blonde, Itachi nodded at someone and Naruto soon found his head pulled back to an awkward and uncomfortable position, held there by a brutal hand in his hair, twisting it slightly. He began to struggle violently against the hold, not liking how vulnerable he felt at that moment, but stilled suddenly when a cold blade when pressed against his throat. Looking down out of the corner of his eye, he saw that it was the same blade that Deidara had used against the attacker from before and therefor assumed it was the blonde behind him. A hot puff of breath against his cheek, recaptured his attention and drew it forward to Itachi once more._

_"Oh, I think you want to, because as I said before. You could end up in the hospital, right beside my brother if you don't. And we wouldn't want that would we?"_

_Deidara moved his hand, making Naruto shake his head. _

_"Exactly. So do as I say, because, it's not a request. It's an order." __With that Naruto was thrown to the ground, where he layed stunned, until a piece of paper floated down and landed on his cheek. __Reaching up he grasped it and looked it over, only to find a number written on it. _

_"That is my personal number where you can reach me at anytime. Do NOT lose it. And don't forget."_

_He was only able to nod dumbly, watching as Itachi walked away, hands thrust deep into his pockets as he chatted quietly with Deidara, looking completely innocent, as though he hadn't just threatened a teenager with battery. As he pushed himself up onto his feet, Naruto noticed that his hands were shaking badly and quickly hid them in his pockets as he turned to walk to the hospital._

Shuddering at the thought of what Itachi would do to him if he didn't follow through with his promise, Naruto turned around and walked over to the doctor, announcing. "I'm his family."

The doctor looked at him skeptically, taking in the bright blonde hair, light blue eyes, and tanned skin, all of which were complete opposites of the Uchiha family. "...Really?"

"No. Not really. But if I don't stay here and see him, I get whacked. So please just hurry it up. I want to get out of this hell hole and home." He grumbled, earning a glare from the doctor.

"Would you happen to be Naruto Uzumaki?"

"He is." A cool voice interjected, sending shivers down the blonde's spine.

Looking behind the blonde, the doctor straightened and tugged on his lab coat, coughing. "Well then, that changes things. Mr. Uchiha talked to me earlier and told me he could not be here and sent you in his place. And who would you be young man?" he asked of the red head, who now stood next to Naruto.

"None of your damn business." Gaara replied, glaring daggers at the man. "Now tell us what the deal with Sasuke is, before I lose my patience and punch you in the nuts." Gaara growled, cool, calculating eyes staring down the doctor until he caved and gestured them forwards.

"...Alright...if you'll please follow me. There are some...sensitive...things I would like to discuss with you before you see him."

Turning on his heel, the doctor strode down the hall and through the swinging doors, leaving the two teens to follow him at their will. With a shuddering sigh, Naruto squared his shoulders and walked forward into what he assumed was his own personal hell, a devil in disguise following close behind him.

-page break that roars and eats your screen--page break that roars and eats your screen--page break that roars and eats your screen--page break that roars and eats your screen-

Staring down at the limp body before him, Naruto twitched and fidgeted in his seat, he had no idea what to do with himself. He was always loud, energetic, and constantly moving, so now that he had to sit still and be silent he thought that he might go crazy. He wanted nothing more than to desperately run out the doors and leave all this horrible crap behind but was afraid of the consequences that would ensue if he did. The doctor had said some stuff about Sasuke that he had never know and wasn't sure he had ever wanted to hear to begin with. He wasn't used to being depended on like this and he wasn't sure that he wanted the pressure it put on his shoulders.

Huffing a sigh, he flopped back into the seat as best as he could, his head cracking against the back of it making him flinch forward, tears welling up in his eyes. And it was at this moment that Sasuke decided to fight his way through the fogginess in his mind and rejoin the world. With a grunt, his onyx eyes fluttered open, flinching back at the bright light that shined down on him from above. Groaning, he fought against his reluctant body, trying to turn his head to the side to avoid the shine when suddenly it was blocked by a peculiar shadow. He traced the outline from behind his eyelids and was left utterly confused. It should have been a person but instead it looked as though a giant ball with jacks sticking out of the sides was hovering over him. Was he in a jacks tournament? ! He didn't know how to play jacks!

With a seemingly enormous effort, Sasuke pried his eyelids up, scared at the thought of having to play in a tournament for a game he didn't know the slightest thing about, and was greeted, not by a jacks ball or a large bowl of Apple Jacks, but by sky blue and neon yellow. Groaning in confusion, he tried to raise his hands up to cover his eyes but couldn't so just settled with closing them. He had no idea what was going on but he really wished that he could pass out again. This day was just too weird for him to handle at the moment.

"...uke. Sasuke, can you hear me?" An oddly soothing bass rumbled into his ears, making him turn towards the pleasant sound with a contented sigh. The sound shook him to his core, sending adrenaline pumping from his heart into his veins at the very sound of it. He giggled quietly when the sound came again, sending shivers up and down his spine. He wanted nothing more than to grab that sound and wrap himself in it. "Are you awake Sasuke? I swear if your messing with me, I'm gonna shove a needle up your ass."

A frown creased the smooth line of his forehead the second time the sound rang out. The first time he heard the sound it had sent warmth curling throughout the length of his body, and he had wanted to save it in a jar so he could have it always. But the second time he heard it there was an undertone of something that had made him squirm uncomfortably. It made him feel ashamed and upset at the same time. He had no idea what had caused that change to happen but he would do anything he could to keep it from happening again.

Reaching upwards, towards where he had heard a growl from above, his hands searched for whatever had made such a beauteous sound. Turning his head towards where his hands were searching, he was once again assaulted by the odd shadow of the jacks ball, making him scowl but he pushed it aside. There were other things that were more important at the moment. Extending his arms out towards the noise, he encountered a cottony soft pillow that felt wonderful against his hands. Twining his fingers through the silken cloud, he made certain that it couldn't move and pulled it closer, holding it there while he attempted to open his eyes once again.

After a tremendous effort he was able to lift the heavy lids and instantly began to look for whatever had made the wonderful sound, even before his eyes had the chance to focus. The first and only thing he was able to see was an expanse of gorgeous tan skin and light blonde locks. Tilting his head to the side in confusion he was able to catch a glimpse of baby blue hidden beneath the blonde fringe and immediately needed to see the color again. It was as if he would be able to identify who it was by looking into their eyes. Lifting the persons head, because he now realized that was what was in his grasp, he looked into the purest set of blue eyes he had ever seen. He knew someone with eyes like this, but who? He couldn't see to remember.

As he stared into the baby blue eyes, he realized that their owner was saying something, and that their voice was the source of the delicious sound that racked his entire body. Just sitting here listening to the tail end of his grumblings was giving him goose bumps. Maybe if he listened it would give him a clue as to who the boy in his grasp was. It took all his mental abilities to concentrate on what was spewing out of the mouth in front of his but eventually he was able to catch the end of the rant.

"...no way in hell did I agree for this! Stupid Itachi can take his gang and shove it up his ass! I agreed to sit and watch over the retard until he woke up and then report it to his brother, not to sit and have my hair pulled!...though it does feel kinda... NO! Bad! Bad brain, we do NOT think those kinda thoughts, especially not about him! Stupid people! I did not agree to this! Go!....now let me go, TEME!"

Sasuke had no idea what half the stuff flowing from the mouth in front of him meant and was completely clueless. Just as he was about to lose focus he heard the insult that puttered across the plump lips in front of him. As soon as the insult registered itself in his brain a light bulb went off inside his head. No one else called him that, and no one else ever would. Loosening his grip on the locks in between his fingers, he began to massage the scalp in apology for the harsh treatment. Tugging gently on the hair in his hands, he connected the blue gazers with his own, instantly getting lost in them and as he watched, a shadow of something passed in front of the blue eyes, darkening their color slightly, as Sasuke continued to massage his scalp.

A brilliant smile spread across Sasuke's face as he watched the boy in front of him. Soon a hoarse sound managed to push its way out of his dry throat, "Naruto..."

Leaning forward, he pulled on the hair in his hands, dragging their faces close together and with a contented sigh, pressed his lips against the soft, luscious lips in front of him. As his eyes fluttered shut, the inky black eyelashes resting sweetly against his pale cheeks, he missed the shocked look that crossed the face before him. Just as the boy before him began to close his eyes slightly, Sasuke pulled back a little, before returning to place a gentle peck on the pale pink petals, still smiling gently.

After that Sasuke released the grip he had on Naruto's hair and fell back against the pillows, nuzzling into them, a small smile still gracing his lips as he fell asleep. "..m'dobe..."

Naruto fell back onto the bed, staring at the slumbering boy in shock, a shaking hand raised to press against his tingling lips. What the hell was that! And why the hell did he enjoy it!

* * *

Cliffie! Mwahaha! I Feel so evil for that but I did love writing it. Sorry that took so long! I love all of you though, I really do. I got so many favorites and things for this story and my one other that it made my heart go aflutter. It took me forever to do this chapter because I didn't have access to a computer with internet for the longest time and it was uploaded onto the document editor thingy on here so I could work on it whenever I had access. This chapter actually turned out different than I planned and just threw off the rest of my plot line. It may be quite some time before I am able to update again but I shall try my hardest.

But thank you for the lovely reviews, and please SEND ME MORE! They are like cupcakes, they fill me with deliciousness. :P I love getting them and any questions or comments will be most appreciated, either on this site or through my email! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, once again.

TaTa till next time.


	5. Chapter 5: Working Overtime With

Hey guys! Thank you for the reviews, they really made me smile, though I was hoping for more. Maybe its just cause of the long wait, huh? Well, here's a chapter to try and fix that. I totally didn't expected to do what I did to them in the last chapter so now I really have no idea what to do with this, so its gonna be touch and go for a while so bear with me yeah? I am hopefully gonna be posting up a lemon/lime yaoi again soon, for those of you who read my other one. I swear I have one hiding somewhere so if I can find it I will post it asap. K? Now, without further ado...

WARNING: yaoi, if you don't know what that means, you may be in the wrong place. Also there is violence and other such things a story just cannot be without. :)

Disclaimer: *pops up slowly from underneath the water* bubbel, bubble burbel buelr burble. translated- no Naruto, my life sucks. Now AWAY!

* * *

Saving You

Chapter 5: Working Overtime With People Who Hate You

* * *

Sasuke sat in the middle of the hospital, mindlessly following the doctors' instructors as they tried to assess whether or not he had done permanent damage to himself. As he lifted his arms straight out and touched the tips of all his fingers to his thumbs, he looked passed to doctor to the blonde bundle cowering in the corner of the room. For some god forsaken reason that stupid blonde kid from his school was sitting in his room, watching everything that happened with angry eyes. Yet no matter what was said to him, he refused to leave the room. As he watched, the boy switched his gaze from the doctor to Sasuke himself, and was now glaring daggers at him, ones which Sasuke easily returned.

He glared at the poor doctor when he leaned forward to take the now beeping thermometer from between his lips. As soon as the plastic had left his lips, he parted them and began to ask, "Why is he-"

"For the last time! I don't know! If you want to know why he is here so badly, ask him yourself! Now, as to the things that pertain to your health, there are several major things that concern me."

Sasuke leveled a glower at the man before a slight shift in his peripheral vision brought his gaze to the blonde once more.

"Stop." He commanded suddenly, a hoarse voice tearing its way out of his lips, as well as a thin, pale hand lifting to reinforce his order. Looking at the doctor, he asked, "Does he have to be here for this?"

A small frown crossed the face of the doctor before it disappeared, quickly replaced by a soft, kinder look. "Would you rather he not be?" he asked gently.

Feeling slightly ashamed by this abrupt need, Sasuke merely nodded, turning his head away from peering blue eyes.

"Alright." Turning to the tan boy in his corner, he said. "Naruto, I'm going to have to ask you to leave for a little while. Go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat, while you have the time."

Even before he had finished his sentence the blonde was shaking his head. "Can't." Was all he said.

"Can't or won't?" Sasuke shot back, his head whipping back to stare daggers at the boy.

"I can't!" Naruto growled out, his gaze narrowing in on the boy on the bed.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, voice cracking slightly under the intense volume. Naruto doubted he had ever been so loud in his life.

"I-I! I just can't!" Naruto screamed, jumping up from the chair, making it clatter to the floor.

Silence awkwardly filled the room, along with the heavy breathing Naruto was emitting. Sasuke stared at him with ebony eyes that searched the baby blue depths before looking away, out the window once more.

"Fine. Whatever."

Naruto jolted, eyes widening, as if he was shocked at how easily the brunette had given in.

The doctor quickly stepped forward, eager to do his job and get out of the way of these two explosive children. "Alright then. So Sasuke, blood tests have shown that your iron levels are a little on the low side, so we may need to put you on a strict diet to pill that back up to where we want it. Another thing that just a general physical exam showed was your extremely insufficient body weight. It is far to low for someone of your size and age. It clearly shows that you haven't been eating properly, if at all, for the past couple of weeks, months even!"

Naruto looked from the doctor to the pale raven, and as he gazed down at the thin frame, he was slightly shocked and horrified. To think that for the past three years he had been wailing on someone whose own body was attacking him as well. And he hadn't even noticed! Guilt and shame flooded through him as he through this.

His hands clenched into fists at his sides at these thoughts before he was drawn from them by the doctor speaking once again.

"Once we release you, a meeting will be set up with a nutritionist whom with you are required to…"

As he listened, his gaze drew up from the thin, bony wrists and climbed up the tiny frame, finally recognizing the way Sasuke's clothes hung off him; the overly large shirt hanging limply to expose the sharp points of his collarbone. Continuing their trip upward, his eyes met and held the bony ones. The searching gaze held the black one before a certain tone in the doctor's voice caught his attention.

"Now Sasuke, last time you were brought in here we discussed the fact that you were bordering the area of having osteoporosis but now with your new test results in, I'm afraid that you have developed it. Because of this, you must, and I stress, MUST begin to take better care of yourself. I know you find it hard to keep up the energy or desire to care for yourself, but I called your brother…" At this point, Sasuke had slowly begun to stiffen up, his gaze still focused on his lap.

"Which I know you asked me not to do, but I am afraid that with all the risks to your health and your previous lack of ability to fully comply with our wishes, I had to inform him of the situation. I told him everything that was strictly necessary but only that. When I stressed to him the dire consequences that could result if you didn't take care of yourself, he agreed to held keep an eye on you."

At this point the doctor paused, seeming to expect some sort of outburst or retaliation from the raven haired teen on the bed, but got none. Looking supremely shocked the doctor continued.

"And lastly…the scars…I'm not sure if any had ever mention their condition to you before but, they seem to be-"

"No." Sasuke cut him off abruptly, now lifting his head to stare at the doctor. "Enough. He doesn't need to hear this. Either get him to leave or stop. I already know."

The poor doctor was once again lost for words, while Naruto was just curious.

Coughing awkwardly, the doctor nodded fore speaking for the final time. "Alright then, well I just need to fill out a couple forms and then you're free to go. But while I am doing that I am going to send Anne, your regular nurse, in to change your bandages, check the scars and make sure everything is working right." With that he nodded to them both before turning and sweeping from the room.

Quiet crept into the room, only pushed back by the crinkling of paper as Sasuke shifted. Blue eyes darted around the room as Naruto tried to avoid looking at the smaller boy on the table. He had never been one for quiet, but now, with the memory of what had happened in the room only a few hours before, there was almost no way that he could stand it. It felt too weird!

Just as he opened his mouth, the door burst open and a short, plump nurse strolled in, a gentle smile on her face.

"Hey honey…how you doin' today?" She asked Sasuke, a thick southern twang on her tongue. Giving neither boy a chance to respond, she continued cheerfully. "Now, the doctor talked to me and said that you needed bandages changed and _those_ checked? Is that right?" She asked, smiling at Sasuke.

Naruto frowned, not exactly liking the way she had said that. It was almost as if they were cahoots about something and that was their codeword. As he pondered this, the two others in the room were quietly exchanging words, the shorter of the two casting frequent glances at the blonde while nodding.

The small woman bustled over to the dazed boy and easily took advantage of his absentmindedness by grabbing his shoulders and steering him towards the door. Naruto jerked from his stupor when she began to push and shove him out the door and quickly began to resist.

"Hey!" He shouted. "What-! What are you doing?" he screeched, voice cracking in the middle.

"Sorry hun," she replied, smiling up at hm while continuing to manhandle him out the door. "But this part of the check up is a little more personal than others, so you need to step out for a bit." The tone with which she said this booked no room for an argument. With that said she accomplished pushing the tall teen out the door, quickly snapping it shut so that he couldn't come back inside.

Standing dumbfounded outside the hospital room, Naruto stared through the tiny glass window in the door. As he watched the nurse returned to Sasuke and asked him a question, to which he replied with a nod while she gently cupped his cheek in her hand. At that one small touch Naruto felt something flame in the pit of his stomach and send shivers throughout his spine. He really didn't understand why he felt like this, but all he could really figure out was that he wanted her hand off of Sasuke.

He watched for a few more minutes to see what was so important that he was not allowed to be in the room, but that plan was soon knocked out of commission when the tiny southerner pulled the curtain around the bed closed, hiding them from view. He frowned and turned away with a huff, stalking down the hallway towards the cafeteria. They had just better have some damn good ramen was all he could think. Especially for all that he had just been put through.

XxXxXxXxX

Rubber bands stretched tight to their max could not have held more tension than the interior of the car at the moment, and it irritated Naruto to no end. His fingers beat out a nervous rhythm against the steering wheel as he drove. Occasionally nervous glances were thrown towards the passenger seat where a moody raven was sitting.

Naruto could not help but feel as though the other boy was plotting his death as he sat there stewing in silence. As the car rolled to a stop at a light, he opened his mouth to speak, anything to break this horrid silence.

"So…"

His voice, though he had spoken softly, rang loudly throughout to car, making the other boy glance at him for a brief moment.

"What?" Sasuke snapped, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Poor Naruto jumped at the curt response, startled despite himself. "Oh…um…well I was just wondering if you remembered what Iruka had said our punishment was." He managed to fumble out.

"Hn," was all he got in response.

"I don't speak asshole teme. Was that a yes or a no?" the blonde asked, fuming silently at the stupid Uchiha.

An awkward silence filled the car once again before Sasuke finally spoke. "Hn. What of it?"

The blonde gulped, darting a look towards the raven before starting the car forwards once more, turning down a neighborhood street. "Well, you see…since we have to…live together…for the rest of the year… I was wondering…if you would agree to living at my place?" He ended his jumbled question awkwardly, allowing it to pitter out to a dull silence that had him twitching in his seat, wishing he could move, once again.

He waited as long as possible, nearly jerking violently because of the fact that he was sitting as still as possible for nearly a full minute without doing something. Just when he thought he couldn't stand it any longer, the smaller boy's voice hit his ear drums.

"Why?"

He slumped down in his seat, a relieved sigh breaking past his lips, glad the boy hadn't immediately trashed the idea.

"Oh, well, it's just that your house is a little bit too far for me to make it to work from there. I work almost everyday, so it would be a bit of a hike for me."

"Why can't you just take your car?"

Naruto flinched lightly before throwing a scowl at the other boy. "Because I don't have a car. The whole reason we're in yours at the moment is because your brother left it at the hospital and insisted that I drive you home. And now I'm dropping it, and you, off at your place then running to mine; hopefully in time to make it to work. My workplace is too far from your place to walk there, especially with the hours I get off at."

He waited for a response, not knowing or having anything else to say.

"Use my car."

Upon hearing this unexpected remark, Naruto choked on his spit, turning quickly to stare at the pale boy, who in return simply gazed back blankly before gesturing towards the road. Turning back towards said road, Naruto reacted just in time, stomping on the brake, to avoid occupying the same space as the car in front of them. They both were thrown forward in their seats only to be jerked back into them by the seatbelts Naruto had insisted on them wearing.

"Why? You…why would you let me use your car? What do you have against my house?" he asked, making sure to keep his eyes firmly on the road.

A snort came from the seat next to him before the other boy felt compelled to answer him in words. "For one? I would bet half my family's fortune that it's a complete pig sty, covered in dirty clothes, dishes and ramen packages."

Naruto was about to retort angrily but realized it was almost completely accurate, minus the dishes. Who needed them when you had instant ramen?

"Secondly, my ass of a brother."

The older boy waited for more, and seemed stumped when none was forthcoming. Finally he ventured a question. "What's wrong with your brother? Aside from the obvious." He quickly added when the raven shot him a disbelieving glance.

"He wouldn't let me." Was the reply he got after another bout of silence.

"Wh-"

"No," he was cut off.

"How-?"

"NO."

"Wou-" he tried once again.

"NO!" he was cut off once more with an even more emphatic response.

"Stop that teme! You don't even know what I am trying to ask you! Sheesh!"

"…Hn."

"Finally!" the blonde muttered as he pulled up to the Uchiha household, not having needed directions seeing as how everyone knew where it was, due to the many functions often held there. Parking the car, he hopped out, grabbing his bag as he did so. The youngest Uchiha followed his example, slamming the door shut before stalking up the steps to his house.

"Hey! Teme! Wait a sec!"

Sasuke paused on the top step, indicating he was listening despite the fact that he didn't turn back around to face the blonde.

"I was just wondering how to get in later?"

His question was met with a perfectly raised eyebrow.

"Cause by the time I get off, you won't be up anymore." When he saw the dark eyed boys shoulders stiffen he quickly added. "Believe me. No one is. So how should I get inside? I don't want to be attacked by security on my way back." He joked with a grin.

There was a brief pause before, "There's a spare key under the potted plant underneath the window, over that way." Sasuke gestured towards the left side of the house. "And I'll tell security that you're to be staying here for a while so they know to let you in."

"Ok, well see ya later teme!" Naruto called jubilantly, tossing the pale boy a wave before trotting off down the driveway, on his way to work no doubt, forgetting about their deal to let him use the car.

This left the raven standing on the top step before he finally decided to push open the door. He thought over what the other had said as he made his way up to his room.

No one else is up…ha! He would show that idiot. Uchiha's aren't like anyone else!

Falling onto his bed, Sasuke stared at his ceiling before a small smile quirked the corner of his mouth upwards.

"Dobe…"

XxXxXxXxX

Naruto groaned and leaned back as far as he could go without overbalancing as was rewarded. A loud crack split the dull quiet of the back room before quickly being followed by a relieved sigh. He pulled the apron around his neck off in one fluid movement and hung it up on the rack, before grabbing his coat and heading to Jiraiya's office to clock out.

Peeping his head into the office, a smile crossed his lips when he saw that the old man had fallen asleep at his desk again. Shaking his head, he quietly closed the door, making sure everything was locked up before he headed out, knowing that the old perv would know he had stayed all his hours and more. He was always the last one to leave.

Walking down the sidewalk, he began the hour long trek back to the Uchiha's place, regretting not taking Sasuke's car as he did so. That thought brought up another troubling thought…Sasuke… What was he going to do? How was he supposed to act? He had barely made it through the car ride home without cracking and exploding on the poor boy.

The other boy had kissed him! Never before in his life had Naruto ever given a thought to his sexual orientation. He didn't have the time or energy for it. But now he didn't have a choice. The abrupt and chance kiss from Sasuke had him all confused. He had had no idea what to do or say this afternoon, especially seeing as how the other didn't seem to have any recollection of what he had done.

These thoughts troubled him the entire walk and before he knew it, he was rummaging under the Uchiha's window for the spare key. He found it and quickly slipped inside the vacant looking house, wanting nothing more than to fall into a bed and sleep for a week and a half. Looking around inside, he slowly made his way up the grand stair case, where he hoped a spare bedroom was. When he made it to the second floor, he was drawn to a room on the left that had light seeping out from under the door. Who would be up at four in the morning?

Sneaking over to the door, he went to turn the knob and was shocked when the door opened under his touch. Taking a quick glance around, he peered inside, taking a small step inside, pushing the door open wider, to see more of the room.

Looking around he saw a normal room, maybe a tad bare but that was it. The walls were a dark blue and the drapes that hung over the windows were a thick, heavy material that blocked all possible entries for light. The carpet was a thick, longer thread the color of thundering skies, and it felt great under his feet, tickling between his toes.

Glancing up from the sight of his toes wiggling in the carpet, he was shocked to realize he had covered the expanse of the room and now stood by the large bed resting in a corner of the room.

With a start, he realized that the room must belong to Sasuke seeing as how he was sprawled on the bed in front of him. The thin boy was propped up against his headboard and a thick black book lay open in his lap. Naruto gazed down at the tiny boy, taking in the way his head had lolled to one side when he had fallen asleep, the position stretching the muscles in his neck, drawing Naruto's eyes there. He stared at the exposed skin, eyeing the creamy expanse, following it up to the strong line of the boys' jaw, lingering there for a moment before continuing up to his face, seeing the bangs that had fallen to cover his face.

Swallowing hard, he reached forward, softly sweeping the thick bangs out of the way. Seeing the full effect sleep had on Sasuke's face, Naruto smiled gently down at the slumbering boy. When he was asleep Sasuke's features relaxed completely, making him look peaceful and serene.

Gazing down at the boy the smile fell off his face to be replaced with a serious look. Staring down, he realized.

'_That kiss…I-I didn't mind…and I-'_

With a small frown, he cupped the soft cheek, running his thumb back and forth softly. Sighing, he leaned forward and rested his against the top of Sasuke's. Right as his eyelids fluttered shut, succumbing to his need for sleep, a final though flittered across his mind. One he refused to admit to himself.

'_I want him to do it again.'_

XxXxXxXxX

Something was itching his nose and at the moment that was all his hazy mind cared about. Giving an inaudible grunt, Sasuke wiggle d his nose to try and dislodge whatever it was that was itching him. Groaning out loud when that didn't work, he lifted a hand and swatted at it and was puzzled when his hand met something soft and fuzzy.

Roaming his hand, he discovered that it covered the majority of his upper face/head. Oddly enough, he didn't mind that it was there; instead he buried his fingers deeper into the warmth while slowly opening his eyes.

A bright yellow solar flare met his gaze and he winced, flinching backwards. Lifting his free hand, he rubbed at his eyes before staring down blearily. Idly, his mind registered what was before him. Naruto…with a small smile he closed his eyes again. Wait a minute...NARUTO?

His eyes flew open as his mouth mirrored his mind, screaming out the tanned boy's name. It woke with other with a start and had them both jerking backwards in response. Unfortunately Sasuke was closer to the edge and fell off, smacking his head against the thick carpeted floor. Poor Naruto just sat there in the middle of the bed, looking utterly confused and fuckable.

Angrily, Sasuke shook that thought out of his head and clambered up, glaring over the edge of his bed at the blonde while clutching his aching skull.

"Naruto!" he growled. "What are you doing on my bed?"

Naruto just stared at him with sleep filled eyes, cocking his head to the side cutely.

"Wha..?" was the mumbled response.

With a groan Sasuke let his head fall forward onto the mattress. Clearly the blonde was not a morning person. And what time had he gotten back last night? He had waited up till nearly three thirty in the morning before falling asleep. Suddenly he felt the bed dip in front of him, causing him to lift up his head. Aqua marine eyes filled his vision.

"Sasu m'k?" Naruto asked, his sleep thickened tongue causing him to slur his words cutely as he reached out to gently caress the others' cheek.

A blush easily spread across Sasuke's face at the older boy's touch, making him groan and bury his face in the bed again.

"Sas'ke?" he felt a hand upon the back of his head and warily looked up once more.

He regretted it. As soon as he had, Naruto leaned forward and pressed a wet kiss against his cheek.

"Good. Sasu'k not dead." With a smile the blonde scooted off the bed and headed towards the bathroom. "Buh bye 'ske!" With that the vulpine boy disappeared into the shower, closing the door behind him with a click.

Staring after him, Sasuke groaned once again before falling onto his bed a final time. His life sucked. But no matter what he said, nothing explained the light flush that was still spread across his cheekbones.

* * *

YAY! I got it done and updated within a couple months of a previous update! I am so excited. This is probably the last chapter you're going to be getting for a while because I have to do the Summer Homework my AP classes gave me. I procrastinated on it so I could write this for you guys! The things I sacrifice… so please repay me by REVIEWING! I love to hear from you guys and if you have any ideas for a next chapter let me know. I am a tad bit stuck on this story. What should happen next between Naruto and Sasuke?

Well I get to go to practice now :-P hahahahah!

Ja for now wonderful people! Remember, read and review and you get a puppy for a present! *lifts puppy up enticingly*

Twitch42


	6. Chapter 6: Not Talking To You

Hey everyone! I am so happy to be posting another chapter so soon! I didn't think this would ever happen. I had a pretty fun time typing this one and I am happy to say that it was so much longer than any other I have written before. Thank you all so much for reviewing if you did so and please review again! I really enjoy reading them.

**Warning**: Yaoi, uncertain feelings and small angst at the end.

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO.

* * *

Saving You

Chapter 6: Not Talking To You

Awkward. That seemed to be the only word Naruto could think of that adequately described his morning. He had figured it would be at least a little bit awkward but it was beyond anything he had imagined. When he had woken up completely, he had been standing in the shower, and he had no real collection of how he got there. Kiba always said when he got up in the morning, he was half sleep walking. A morning person he was not. So, he was a little worried about what had happened while he was in that state. Especially given how Sasuke had acted towards him once he was utterly awake.

~ FLasHBacK ~

_Steam whirled around the confined room, making the blonde sigh. Blinking bleary eyes, Naruto reached up and rubbed the last little bit of sleep from his eyes, finally completely waking to the wonderful world. Looking around himself, he was more than a little confused to see that he wasn't in his own familiar bathroom, and began to panic a little._

_Whipping around, he slipped on the slick floor, catching himself against the wall while accidentally knocking over a bottle that was resting on a shelf. It hit the floor, the top popping open and spilling some of the contents across the bottom of the shower. Stooping down, he picked up the bottle, the gel coating his fingers as he flipped to top back. After he put it back on the shelf, he ran his hands through his hair and as he did so, the scent of the shampoo hit his nose. Lilacs… For whatever reason that made him think of Sasuke. _

_With a sigh, he climbed out of the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping it securely around his waist as he padded across the cold, tiled floor. Walking over to the mirror, he looked into it and began making faces at himself, snorting sometimes as the steam distorted his reflection, making him giggle. After a few minutes of this ridiculously normal routine, he spun on his heel and strolled out of the bathroom to find some clothes for school, completely forgetting he hadn't yet discovered where he was yet. _

_Staring around the fairly spacious room, Naruto had the feeling of déjà vu… he could have sworn that he had been in here before. Walking across the thick carpet, his toes dug in and the feeling only intensified. A sudden movement on the huge bed drew his attention, and his grip on his towel loosened so much that it fell, hanging scandalous inches above his treasured bits. Climbing gracefully off the bed, in nothing more than a pair of loose sleeping pants that mirrored the state of Naruto's towel, was none other than Sasuke Uchiha! _

_Naruto swallowed hard, his gaze glued to the thin body of the other. While Sasuke was on the too thin side of the line, there was something about the promise that that body held that made his heart pump a little harder. He related that to fear; the fear that once Sasuke was completely healthy he could beat his ass in a fair fight. Badly. Yeah…that was the reason…_

"_..be. Get out of the way."_

_Naruto snapped back to reality and focused on the large black abyss's in front of him. "Huh?"_

_A scoff and shove were his response as Sasuke shoved past him into the bathroom. Just as the door was about to close Naruto grabbed the edge, halting its movement. "Wait a second teme!"_

_A pause and then a "What?" was growled at him, as a slightly flushed face peeked out._

_Naruto shuffled on his feet and mumbled a reply. The bathroom was quiet for a second before the door opened wider and the raven looked out at him and asked, "What Naruto?" his voice heavy with defeat and something else the boy couldn't quite place._

_The blonde swallowed roughly before managing to mutter, "What…should I wear? To school you know? My stuff is dirty and I don't have anything else over here yet." At the end of his sentence he managed to look the other in the eye, a large flush spreading across the bridge of his nose. _

_With a quiet sigh, the raven pointed to his closet, the pale arm pressing against Naruto's chest as he did so, even though he had tons of room. "Over there. Borrow some of mine, but __only__ the stuff on the hangers in the front. If I find out you touched anything else I will personally castrate you and fillet the little bits in an iron skillet."_

_Grinning, Naruto just nodded cheerfully and walked over to the closet, listening as the bathroom door clicked shut and the sound of water pounding against the floor soon followed. Pulling open the light cedar doors, he was stunned still momentarily before a full grown smirk burst across his face and he disappeared into the rather obnoxiously large walk-in closet. This would be fun._

~ End FLasHBacK ~

Nothing much had happened after that weird occurrence in the bedroom except for Sasuke not having a fit and attacking him after he saw what the blonde had done to his clothes. To say that Naruto had gone overboard on the whole, trying to piss off Sasuke was a wee bit of an understatement. So he had thrown all the clothes off the hangers and onto the floor. So what? That's how his clothes always looked.

Unfortunately, this didn't receive the response he had been hoping for. Sasuke had just walked into his closet, grabbed the clothes closest to him and walked back out, not even acknowledging the fact that his neat and tidy clothes were now trashed about. The fact that the pale boy was avoiding him, made an uncomfortable feeling well up in his stomach. Having Sasuke fly off the handle was something he was familiar with, but not getting any response for _anything_ he did was just unsettling.

The ride over to school was one of the most uncomfortable ones he had ever had the pleasure of experiencing. As soon as the car pulled into a spot, he had bolted out of the car, nearly forgetting to unbuckle himself, hoping for some normal conversations with normal people. Anymore of the creepy silence was going to make his head explode.

The bell rang above Naruto's head, rousing him out of his thoughts and into action. He grabbed his bag, stuffing his books in, and slung it over his shoulder, making his way out the door with the rest of the throng. As he walked down the hallway he was conscious of the appraising looks that were being sent his way. Normally he wouldn't care, in fact, they just boosted his ego and made him strut like a proud peacock, but today they just made him uneasy. Nothing seemed to be going his way.

He was hyperaware of the fact that the approving looks thrown his way were not because he was himself, but because of the fact that he was wearing Sasuke's clothes, which happened to be just a tad too tight and a tad too dark. Normally his outfit consisted of multiple blindingly bright colors and baggy t-shirts and jeans; today however, he was the complete opposite.

Sasuke's closet had held only dark colors and _way_ smaller sizes, so he ended up wearing a tight black, long sleeve shirt that showed off his muscular chest and arms. Dressing his bottom half had been a bit more troublesome. Searching through rack after rack of clothes he had finally managed to find a pair of jeans he was able to squeeze into, a pair that probably hung off Sasuke so bad that he looked gangster. They were a dark, stone washed blue, and clung to his thighs and hips in such a way that he could have sworn he saw more than one girl turn away with a nosebleed, even several guys too!

Hurrying down the hall, eager to get away from all the stares, he stepped into his next class, dreading this one the most because he was forced to sit next his new nightmare. Sliding into his desk, Naruto let his head fall forward onto it, letting a groan rumbled up his throat and spilling out his lips as he already felt the brooding aura emitted by Sasuke.

He was aware of the glare that was briefly sent his way before he was ignored again as the stoic raven faced forward once more as the teacher walked in. Naruto didn't bother lifting his head, knowing that Asuma didn't really care as long as he didn't fail the class. He was the most laid back teacher in the entire school.

Just as he was beginning to fall asleep, per usual, the P.A. system crackled to life unexpectedly and Shizune's voice filled the room.

"Will Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki please report to the principle's office. Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki." With that, the speaker cut off, leaving many people with a finger in their ears, fearing they had gone deaf.

Naruto heard the chair next to him scrape the floor harshly as it was pushed back, its occupant standing next to his desk once they were upright.

"Move."

Naruto ignored the command, and nuzzled deeper into his arms, only wishing to go back to that wonderful unawareness that encompassed his mind when he was asleep. It was so much simpler there. The principal could wait for all he cared. He didn't get that much sleep most nights, so sleeping in school was his only reprieve. Just as he was about to reach that goal of complete darkness, his chair was pulled out from underneath him and his chin banged against the desk below him, effectively making him bite through his lip and split his chin.

He shot to his feet, with a scream, "Teme!" His fist was pulled back, ready to fly, when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

"Naruto. Let it go and get moving, this new principle won't wait forever."

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Asuma standing behind him, pocky stick hanging limply out of his mouth. Taking a deep breath, he brought his arm down and with much difficultly, managed to release most of the tension in his body. Besides being an impossibly cool teacher, Asuma was also the head track coach and therefore Naruto's coach, so he knew how to control the explosive blonde.

With a gentle shove, he was pushed towards the door where an impassive Sasuke was waiting; having moved soon after Asuma took control. Taking a deep breath, and praying to any god that listened to allow him the patience to survive the walk to Tsunade's without killing the other, Naruto stalked past the boy, wiping the blood flowing from his chin.

The trip to the office was a silent and rushed one, seeing as how Naruto made sure to stay a couple ten feet in front Sasuke. Pushing open the office door, he raised a hand to greet Shizune, who looked up and frowned, used to the sight of the bloodied blonde. However, when Sasuke entered behind him without a scratch the frown turned to puzzlement. Pointing towards the chairs lined up along the wall, she walked to a cabinet and got down some antiseptic and gauze, being both the secretary and school nurse.

As she came to kneel in front of the blonde, she glanced between the two silent boys, knowing something was different seeing as how they were usually still spitting curses at each other. Leaning forward, she began to dab at the split, looking up when the blonde would flinch at the bite of the antiseptic but otherwise remained silent. It stayed this way through the entire process until she finished up and turned to Sasuke and asked, "Are you hurt?"

His response was just to shake his head, glancing briefly at the tanned boy next to him, who refused to meet his gaze. Something had definitely changed between the two.

With a sigh, she shook her head and stood, saying that Tsunade would see them in a few moments. When Naruto questioned what happened to Iruka, Shizune just replied that he needed a break and decided to transfer to the English department and let Tsunade take his place. It wasn't supposed to happen until this school year had let out, but the stress of yesterday had been too much for the quiet man.

During this whole explanation Sasuke was looking discreetly at the other out of the corner of his eye. There was something wrong with the dobe. Usually when Sasuke did something like pulling his chair out form under him, the blonde was up in under two seconds and had already thrown a punch at him. Today however, he seemed stunned and a little hesitant to send a hit at the pale guy.

If there was something that Sasuke hated more than annoyingly loud idiots, it was being babied. That was why he actually liked Naruto, not that he would ever admit it. He was one of the only people Sasuke would react to, simply because he could be counted on not to pull a hit, no matter how weak Sasuke was at the time. He treated everyone the same, not allowing certain behaviour just because someone was ill.

That's why he was more than disappointed when the blonde didn't hurl a fist in his direction. He didn't want their relationship to change, no matter how weird it was. There was nothing physically wrong with him, it was just…a mental block. One he would handle by himself and didn't need people butting into.

Not realizing he had been staring at the other boy, he was shocked when azure eyes suddenly flashed in his direction. "What the hell do you want asshole?" Naruto spat out harshly.

"Hn. …Dobe." He replied quickly, hoping to possibly goad the idiot once more.

With a sharp intake of breath, he could practically feel the other bristling at the insult, despite having turned face forwards again. "Don't call me that teme!"

"Never." Was his sarcastic reply, which was rewarded with a huff and crossed arms and the blonde reverted to being a three year old. Despite this childish behaviour, Sasuke had to raise his arm to block his face from view as a small smile spread his lips. It seemed the dobe wasn't going to completely freak out on him and treat him like a fragile little child.

That was good news.

XxXxXxXxX

Staring across her desk at the two opposites, Tsunade could do nothing more than shake her head. Across from her on her right, slumped so far down in his seat, he was barely still sitting in it was Sasuke Uchiha. Once one of the brightest of all the students to attend this school, he had changed to the reserved and hostile young man before her. Not having known him through the past couple years to see the change, she was only able to read about it in his file.

Never having had many friends to begin with, the boy now was practically an introvert and talked to no one, doing barely any of the work in his classes and yet excelling so far that he was still among the top in the school, the whole district. Before the whole change, the boy had been involved in most sports at his school and was the MVP for most of them and yet now he rarely even managed to attend his physical education class but was one of the most physical beings she had ever met, involved in more than half the fights that occurred in the school.

And then on her left was Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. Though no one knew that his name was hyphenated as such. The boisterous boy was the complete opposite of the one sitting next to him. As he sat there, his knee was bouncing up and down at such a rate that it was jingling the wallet chain hanging out of his pocket and he looked around the room constantly.

When he was about ten years old, the doctors had diagnosed him with ADHD and supplied medicine to help calm him down. He took them for a couple years but then once starting eighth grade he quit and used all his ridiculous energy to excel at sports. He had made bunches of friends and thrived on the attention of others.

Though he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, in fact he was in the lowest percent of their grade, only barely making graduation with the required credits. Despite this, he had the most unique gift about him. There was no one person who he had not been able to charm and convince of his wonderful personality and way of living. Well, except one…

After observing the two fidget and glare at each other for a few more minutes there was no more chance of putting it off. "Enough with the looks you two." She spoke, lacing her fingers in a steeple. "Now, I know that Iruka has set some sort of punishment for the two of you. He has informed me of this idea of his and while I think it's completely unorthodox and stupid, I am willing to give it a try just because Iruka has such faith in it."

Here she paused; looking at the two of them to make sure she had their complete and utter attention. "But hear this, if I hear of one single fight, either on the grounds or off them, you will be expelled and you will not graduate.

You also will need to see me at least once a week, so we can discuss how things are going and I can be sure whether or not this plan should continue. If I think things are going downhill I will start scheduling these meetings more frequently, unless there is a serious threat to either of your well beings by your continued housing together. Speaking of which, have you decided whose house your going to be staying at? I thought this might take a while seeing as how you two fight over everything but-!"

"He's staying with me."

She pulled back, stunned at the fact that one, she had been interrupted, and two, they had settled this already. Leaning back in her chair, she stared on in shock. "You've already decided whose house you're using? I'm impressed. So Naruto is staying with Sasuke, and you know what happens because of this? You're willing to take it in stride if anything bad happens there? You two get in a fight and break something? Cause the school will not be held responsible."

Suddenly the blonde bolted up from his seat. "Hey! Wait a minute! I am not _'staying'_ with the teme! Not like that! I wouldn't even be there if the teme hadn't begged me to."

As soon as he said this and the raven stood from his slumped position, Tsunade rubbed her forehead, hoping to stave off an incoming migraine, before standing from her seat and stepping around the desk into the hostile space between the two boys.

"Stop it, the both of you! Naruto, you know I didn't mean it any way like that. Now, Sasuke I have nothing further to discuss with you so you may head back to class. Please." She added after a moment when the tiny boy just stared up at her.

With a snort he turned on his heel and stalked to the door, turning to look discreetly over his shoulder at the tanned boy once more as he pulled it open before walking out, slamming it shut behind him. Raising an eyebrow, the blonde woman pondered that look before storing in the back of her mind for later as she turned to the other boy.

Her stern look faded and a smile broke across her cheeks, mirroring that of the boy before her. "Brat." She said fondly, sweeping him up into a firm hug, smothering him against her enormous bosom.

"Granny." He murmured back, hugging her back tightly, not even struggling against the suffocation that was impending.

After a few moments they stepped back from each other, sitting down in their respective seats once more.

"So how have you been brat?" she asked, leaning back in her chair.

With a smirk, Naruto leaned back in his as well, lacing his fingers behind his head. "Eh, not bad. Well, except for the whole fighting with the teme and having to live with him. Kiba and I made varsity on the basketball team this year and I was elected team captain as well. So that's awesome…"

Nodding, Tsunade listened to the boy ramble, laughing at the right points and smiling encouragingly when he was ranting about the time when Kiba strung his underwear up on a tree while sleeping over at his house one time. Eventually she sat forward and stopped his ramblings.

"That's great Naruto. Now, how are you _really_ handling this whole living with the Uchiha brat? If you think it's not a good idea, then I can change your punishment. I know how much of a sacrifice and struggle it must be for you to be living at his place, considering."

The boy nodded but smiled as he replied. "I'm doing fine, really. It seems to be working out fine and if that seems to be changing then I'll let you know. Promise." He told her in a soft voice. When he continued though, his voice was lower in tone, ensuring no one would over hear if they walked by the door. "The whole living over there is a little weird but I am handling it. It wasn't much of a problem last night, though I had to walk back to his place after working at jii-sans because I forgot to take the car. I even managed to fall asleep over there." He finished with a smile.

"Wait! You have a car now? When did you get that? How're you able to afford that? Better yet, you SLEPT at his house! Actually slept there? Like fall asleep and stay that way?" she gaped at him, hands planted on the desk, spilling papers onto the floor.

He laughed at her surprise and answered. "No, I don't have a car. The teme offered me his car to get to and from work, so that we would stay at his place. And yes I did fall asleep."

She just gazed at him in astonishment before falling back into her seat. "Well, I have to say that I am impressed. You are living a very healthy and stable life and seem to be coping very well. You are so much better off than the last time I saw you. I'm so glad."

Standing up, she pulled him up into one last hug. "Now you better get to class, but don't be a stranger. I expect to see you at Jiraiya's place at least once a week to have dinner with us, now that we both are here. You should be spending time with your guardians." She stopped to take a breath and started up before he could interject. "I don't care about your working schedule; I will have Jiraiya fix it. If needed he can bump up your pay. You look far too tired to be working the schedule you are.

"And one more thing, that boy…I believe he may actually care for you. No matter how he may express it. And whether you know it or not, you like him too. Even if just a little."

With that she smiled gently at him before pushing him towards the door. "Now get going. And no more getting in trouble!" she called after him as he walked out into the main office.

Plopping down in her cushy swivel chair, she let a puff of air escape her lips as she ran her hands down her face. She had a feeling that she might end up regretting the decision to take this job, even if she did get to see her godson and husband much more often.

XxXxXxXxX

Sasuke released a cloud of hot air, watching as it turned white and floated away on a cold breeze that made him shiver. He had no idea why he was still here, waiting for the idiot, but everyone else was already gone so he might as well wait a little longer he supposed.

Tilting his head back against the red bricks of the building, he stared up at the cloudy gray sky and wished it would snow already. Most people hated winter because it was cold but Sasuke happened to love it. He loved the feeling of being wrapped in a million layers, the warmth trapped close to his skin, yet still able to feel the bite on the frosty wind on his face.

Gazing at the lifeless sky he closed his eyes and once he saw nothing but the image of the sky filled with snowflakes in his mind, he smiled quietly. A cough from beside his elbow had him spinning away from the wall and into a fighting stance, hands raised to protect himself.

Looking at the person who had startled him, he was both surprised and not to see that it was Naruto. No one else had ever been able to sneak up on him beside the blonde so he should have suspected. Uneasily, he slid out of the stance and leaned back against the wall, breathing in a sigh as he tried to relax.

The blonde looked on in silence, staring at the other boy in contemplation. Finally the silence unnerved the Uchiha heir and he snapped.

"What?"

Naruto looked at him, serious thoughts showing through his eyes, before they were wiped away and replaced with a silly grin. "Oh nothing teme. You just looked really peaceful and happy…Is there any reason why?" he questioned, the smile upon his face belaying how much attention he actually was paying.

Sasuke just looked at him for a moment before returning to looking at the sky. "It's almost winter."

Naruto followed his gaze upward while braving another question. "So…you like winter?"

The raven haired boy just nodded.

The two stood there in a companionable silence for the first time in their lives, before Sasuke pushed off the wall and started walking towards the parking lot to head home. Naruto stared after him, wondering if he was supposed to follow. He was answered when the other guy turned around and quirked his head to the side.

"You coming dobe?"

Naruto grinned and ran after the raven, easily catching up to him and beginning a running ramble that the other paid no attention to. Despite this, the two were completely content to be with the other for the first time. They didn't know if it was the approaching season or the new living situation or the fact that something may have changed between them. Either way they didn't care, and just enjoyed it while it lasted.

XxXxXxXxX

Stepping into the house, both boys kicked off their shoes and threw their bags on the ground, before splitting off and going in different directions. It had been a week and a half since the first day that they had stayed in the same house together, and though Naruto had eventually gotten a tour of the house, he still headed towards Sasuke's room to take a shower. It was where he spent most of his time and felt the most relaxed, while Sasuke had said he was allowed in the other rooms he didn't feel comfortable there. The rest of the house besides the kitchen and bedroom made him feel unnerved and sad for whatever reason. Besides, Sasuke's bathroom had the best shower.

While Naruto headed there, Sasuke went for the kitchen. After the first two nights there was no question of the fact that Naruto was not allowed near the kitchen. He had attempted to make ramen and started a huge kitchen fire. Once the fire had been put out, Sasuke asked him if he had ever been near a stove before and was proved right in his guess that it would be a no. From then on, Sasuke had been cooking all meals for them, just as his nutritionist requested. The only thing Naruto was allowed to make was cereal and even then he had to ask permission.

Twenty minutes later Sasuke had finished cooking and Naruto was out of the shower, based on what he could hear from the kitchen. Heading up the stairs, he walked into his room and opened his mouth, expecting to find the boy passed out on his bed per usual. However, that wasn't the case. Looking around his room he couldn't see the blonde, so he headed for his closet seeing as how the door was open. He guessed that the other was in there, trying to find a pair of clothes. Why he didn't just use his own room, the raven haired boy didn't know.

Pushing open the door, he called out. "Hey dobe! Dinner's read-" his voice abandoned him as he took in something his mind refused to absorb.

Naruto spun around, the light blue dress in his hands making his wide blue eyes seem to glow an otherworldly color.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke whispered deeply, his hands clenching at his sides.

"I-I..I was jus-"

"What the hell are you doing?" he shouted angrily, face turning red as he took in the clothes splayed out on the rack before the blonde. The dresses, the jeans, suits, and such that were never to be touched by anyone else. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Striding over, he tore the dress out of Naruto's hands and pulled him to his feet by his collar. "Get out." He dragged him out of the room and down the stairs, not caring that the other boy was falling and smacking his face and shins into the hard corners of the furniture.

The blonde stumbled after him, trying to regain his footing, wincing as his shin thumped into something else. "Sasuke! Wait! It wasn't what you-!"

"GET out! Get OUT! GET OUT! Didn't you hear me? Get The Fuck OUT!" He shouted furiously. Tearing open his front door, the thin boy shoved the other out, not caring that it was thundering out and raining sideways in sheets. It reflected his current mood rather nicely, he thought absently, a numb feeling spreading through him that was very comforting.

"SASUKE! I'm sorry! Please, wait! I didn't mean-" he was cut off by the door slamming in his face, and no matter how hard he pounded on it, he wasn't answered. "Sasuke! I'm sorry!" he whimpered pathetically, resting his head against the cool oak of the door. Finally, Naruto turned away and stepped out into the downpour, walking towards his work, something he hadn't done since he was living with Sasuke.

As he walked away, there was something nagging in the back of his mind that he had done something completely unacceptable and he doubted the raven would ever forgive him. The only thing he didn't know what to think about was the clothes, he couldn't understand why the raven would have those kinds of clothes hanging in the back of his closet. He doubted the other boy was into cross-dressing, so they must have some sort of special meaning to him.

Heaving a heavy sigh, he headed to work; his head drooped low, hoping he could make it up to Sasuke somehow. He just hoped the other boy wouldn't have some kind of relapse because of this.

XxXxXxXxX

As soon as Sasuke had kicked Naruto out, the furious boy had sunk down against the door, curled into a ball, and buried his head in his arms, crying long and hard into them until he had fallen asleep from exhaustion. Many hours later Itachi had come home to discover his little brother blocking the doorway with his body and shivering uncontrollably.

Taking one look and the shaking boy, he knew something terrible had happened, something that concerned their parents and most likely, their newest addition to the home. Throwing his coat on the couch, he stooped and picked up his little brother, carrying him to his room and feeling as though they had reverted to years ago, just after their parents had died. He only hoped the boy would be able to shake off the trauma one more time.

* * *

So, there was chapter six. I was completely surprised at how easily I was able to whip out this chapter. I am not quite happy with the ending but oh well. Any ideas on where this story should go, or for a filler chappie, please, PLEASE, please feel free to put them in reviews for me to read or email me. I really need them with this story. So, please review if you would like another chapter relatively soon, though I make no promises. ALSO I was just wondering if any of you would consider reading an Inuyasha story I have written. It's a Sess/Inu but they are not brothers in it. So let me know. Thanks everyone!

Ja!

Twitch


	7. Unnerving Realizations for Unnerved Peop

Hey all. Sorry I haven't posted in what seems like a year. I've been swamped with classes but hopefully I'll be able to update sooner because the school years almost over. Yay! So here's to all those who are rejoicing in the fact that summer is almost here.

WARNING: yaoi, if you don't know what that means, you may be in the wrong place. Also there is violence and other such things a story just cannot be without.

Disclaimer: No Naruto but that's alright. All I need is be able to write using them wonderful characters. ;-)

Saving You

Ch. 7: Unnerving Realizations for Unnerved People

Slamming a pot down on the stove and sliding a plate up onto the counter, Naruto hollered out, "Order up!" He quickly turning to another pan, and flipping the contents before lowering the flame to a simmer. Suddenly a loud beeping filled the kitchen and he hustled across the room to a gigantic oven and pulled it open, a wave of heat breaking over his skin as he reached in and began to pull out various pans and sheets. Turning away, he placed them on the counter, grabbing other items that were waiting to be put in, and then kicked the oven closed with his foot.

Snatching up a spatula, he began to dole out the food onto plates, and placing them on the counter and calling in a waiter to take them out. He continued to do this for the next hour and a half before the orders slowed down and he was able to breathe a bit easier. Throwing a glance at the clock, he saw that there was only a half hour left before the shop closed, so he threw on a pair of rubber gloves and dove into the pile of dishes that was larger than he was.

As he scrubbed at a crusted on chunk of cheese, thoughts he had been able to push away while working busily came rushing back. He had no idea what would happen when he attempted to go back to Sasuke's and he was still trying to decide if he wanted to or not. The other boy had thrown him out, with tears in his eyes, and screamed to get out. That wasn't really something he wanted to put the tiny raven through once again.

In the almost two weeks since he had been living with Sasuke, they had been getting closer and he had thought things were going really well, until the closet incident. He had gone upstairs and taken a shower while Sasuke cooked, because, after one, ONE, mishap, he had come to the conclusion that Naruto couldn't cook anything. There was just a big difference between the kitchen appliances here and the unnaturally high tech ones at Sasuke's place. So after his shower, he had gone into the closet to find some clothes, but no matter how hard he looked he couldn't find anything in his size. So he had gone to the back of the closet and rifled through the stuff there, finally finding something that would fit him, and it was there that he had also found the box of older clothes.

Naturally he had been curious as to what all was there, so he had pulled all the stuff out until he had reached the bottom of the box. At the bottom, underneath all of the clothes, was a photo album and he saw that on the front, in expensive cursive text was written, 'Family Memories'.

Staring down at the dress in his hands, he had realized that it must have belonged to Sasuke's mom. But why was it in his closet? Looking around at all the other stuff, he realized it must be his parent's clothing. The only thing that had stuck out in his mind was, where were the boy's parents and why didn't they need these clothes there? And it was at that point that Sasuke had appeared in the door and found him in the midst of all the clothing.

With a sigh he finished up the last of the dishes, cleaned up the kitchen, and finished seeing the rest of the staff off. Looking back at the clock, he slowly made his way through the restaurant, making sure that everything was as it should be, before arriving at the back office.

Opening the door, he stepped inside and called out. "Pervy? You in here?" Glancing among the piles of papers and books that were heaped up in teetering towers around the room; he managed to spot a spot of bushy white hair. Smiling to himself he stepped inside the room and maneuvered his way around the piles, until he reached the smothered desk.

Looking down at the slumbering old man, he smiled fondly before reaching out and taking the sake bottles from the desk and throwing them in the trash. Shaking his head, he squatted down and shook his godfather awake. Bleary old eyes stared up at him before a spark of recognition lit them.

"Naruto! How are you m'boy?" he asked drunkenly.

"I'm fine Jii-san. But you need to be going home to granny. She's going to be worried about you."

"Ah…the fair lady that won my heart. Can't have her worrying now can we? She already does enough of that between me and you. Though you're doing better I hear! Sleeping through the night, and at other people's houses no less. And no recent attacks, good god, you'll beat this thing yet."

When silence was the only response to his ramblings he continued to speak to himself, his godsons' silence going unnoticed. "Alright then, let me just see everyone off and I'll be on my way."

Naruto helped his guardian up out of his seat, allowing him to lean heavily on his shoulder. "That's alright, I've already done it. You go on home and I'll lock everything up, okay?"

"What would I do without you Naruto? Sometimes I swear you were sent to save us, not the other way around. How are you doing? Still got enough of the meds?"

"…yes." Naruto muttered slumping in on himself, momentarily subdued once more, before he shook it off. "Come on' old man. Let's get you home to your wife."

After a few more minutes of Jiraiya's drunken rambling Naruto managed to get him into his coat and out of the door. He watched from the restaurants' front door, as the man stumbled his way down the street and into his driveway, where the lights lit up a house as soon as he stepped foot on the steps. Smirking at the thought of the tongue lashing the old man was going to get, Naruto stepped back inside. Walking around once more to check all the doors were locked and the equipment shut off, he grabbed his hoodie and stepped outside.

Shivering at the chill that seemed to be a requirement at four in the morning, he hunched his shoulders before setting off at a leisurely stroll. This was the only time that he had to himself and he relished it. The silence that usually drove him mad seemed less intimidating at this time, and he found he could think his clearest. This alone time in the middle of the night allowed for time to figure out any problems that were nagging him, those that posed a particular threat to his health specifically.

The biggest one right now was Sasuke. He hadn't meant to harm the other boy or piss him off. Those two traits seemed to have vanished during the time they had spent together. Yes, he still loved to annoy Sasuke but he no longer did it to seriously piss the other off, it was just to see the fire it brought out in him. It was nearly the only time the other showed an emotion. So when Sasuke had shoved him out, his face blotchy with tears, he had never felt worse. He couldn't figure out what to do next. Telling Tsunade seemed like the only option but he didn't want her to worry. In the back of his mind, the little voice there also whispered that it was because he didn't want to leave Sasuke, but he didn't want to face that. He didn't want to face any of what had just happened. He just wanted to go back to how things were a day ago.

But he couldn't do that. Now he had no place to sleep because going back to his own place would mean face Tsunade and he wouldn't allow that to happen. He obviously couldn't go back to Sasuke's place, not that he would want to after seeing the other so messed up. There was no doubt about it, he had screwed up royally. Just thinking about it made his head pound and his chest start to hurt. Rubbing his chest in an attempt to ease the pain, he exhaled heavily, watching as the fog it created dissipated. The more he thought about it, the more he could see the similarities between himself and the foggy mist he created.

He had only ever been important to people for fleeting moments, those few moments that he was a new commodity in their lives. Once that moment was past they forgot him and moved on to better things. His friends had always been fleeting, in nearly every neighborhood he had been to, only staying long enough to prove that he wasn't enough for them to stay. It was one of the reasons why he tried so hard at all the sports and relationships he kept. He was always on the edge, waiting for Kiba and all his other current friends to be fed up and just leave if he did anything wrong. He was afraid of being waved away in annoyance because he had become nothing more than a view blocker. The constant shifting in his life related so well to that of the fog when it faded that his hearts' aching increased.

As his misery increased, along with his depressing thoughts, Naruto stumbled, coming to a stop in his steps. Clutching the cloth of his shirt above his heart in his fist, he looked to the right and saw an old, dilapidated playground that had long since been appreciated. Laughing morosely at the irony, he dragged his feet across the ground, their scuffing the only sound in the silence. As his thoughts began to spiral towards the dark, vicious pit he tried so hard to stay away from he climbed the steps on the jungle gym to the top. Once there, he clambered into the yellow tube that spanned the space between the two sets, just as tears began to slip pass his firmly controlled façade.

Curling up into a ball, he wrapped his arms around himself, holding tightly the way he wished someone would hold him. Love and security: the two things he yearned for beyond almost anything else. Soon, his silent tears progressed to heaving, hiccupping sobs. Suddenly his breath caught and his self-imposed hug turned into a frantic scramble on the skin above his heart.

Pressing his palm tightly to his chest, he felt for his heartbeat.

_Thud...thud….thud-thud-thud-Thud-THUD-THUD...THUDTHUD __**THUD-THUD-THUD!**_

Feeling the frantic skipping and sudden racing of his heart, his eyes widened and his breath began to come with more difficulty. He reached down with shaking fingers and attempted to grab the pill bottle that he always kept on him. Struggling to control the tremors that wracked his body, he tugged the bottle out of his pocket only to find that it was empty. His mind flashed back to a couple days ago when he had felt his heart skipping and took the last of them. Usually he got them replaced right away but he had been feeling so good it had slipped his mind. Dropping the bottle, he reached back down and shoved his hand in his pocket to grab his phone. Pulling it out, he managed to flip it open with great difficulty. As he punched in numbers he began to fumble, his vision blacking out as a high pitched ringing filled his ears.

Gasping for breath he tried to brace himself against the wall but slid down as his vision went completely for a moment scaring him without a doubt. His phone fell from his hands, clattering against the hard plastic of the tube as he fell limp. His eyes stared frantically at the phone, just beyond his fingers that wouldn't respond no matter how hard he willed them to. The last thing he saw was the light of his phone illuminating the screen that showed he had only one button left to push to complete the call. Then, he was gone.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Sasuke bolted upright, panting for air, as sweat shone on his brow. Reaching up he wiped it away with the sleeve of his shirt before glancing at his surroundings. Deep, warm red walls surrounded him, edged with dark cherry wood trimmings and several picture frames decorating them. Light, flowing drapes streamed from the windowsill, billowing out slightly in the wind. As if he needed further confirmation as to whose room he was in, the door clicked as it swung shut, prompting him to look over and see his brother standing there.

He opened his mouth to speak his brothers' name but found he could only utter the harshest of sounds. He expected Itachi to smirk and mock him for the off noises he was uttering, as he usually did, but it did not come. Instead of the smirk he got a small frown and a glass of water being placed beside the bed. That freaked him out almost as much as his brother being nice. Usually he was so wrapped up in his gang business that he just completely ignored Sasuke and any needs he had. So by the age of twelve, Sasuke had learned to become completely independent.

"Drink."

Glaring up at his brother, Sasuke reached over and grabbed the glass, sipping it softly before attempting to speak again.

"Wh-why am I in here?" he managed, coughing only once.

Itachi rolled his eyes before speaking. "Because you were passed out on the floor by the front door…with tear stains on your face. As history had proved, this is the only way to get you to talk seeing as now you owe me. So talk. What the hell happened? I thought that blonde boy was supposed to be staying here? Naruto wasn't it? Where is he?"

Itachi stared down at Sasuke who refused to meet his gaze.

"Sasuke."

"No."

"Sasuke! I'm not asking you! As your guardian I demand that you tell me. Tell me what the fuck happened or so help me- I'll go to the old lady and have her put you back in freaking kindergarten! You and the blonde idiot were doing well and now you've reverted to your selfish emo bastard. Is this what our parents would have wanted? Huh? That boy in the one thing that has changed in your life since they died! Your sickness, perpetual attitude, the rabid antisocialism, all of it! It disappears when-"

As he ranted, he watched Sasuke slowly leaned forwards, bowing in to himself. He was nearly folded in half before he finally spoke in a mutter, "…hefoundmomsdress…"

"..What?" Itachi asked, "Sasuke if you're going to be a prick then-"

Sasuke bolted upright and swung himself up out of the bed, "I said- "He found moms' dress! What the hell was I supposed to do? Leave him to frolic in their things? Tell him what happened? Let him into our past, MY life? NO! So I sent him away. I won't let him ruin my life! Not ever!"

Itachi froze, listening to his brother raise his voice for the first time in years. Finally the words sunk through his shock and he registered what his brother was saying.

"Her dress? ….Sasuke, you haven't taken their things out of those boxes have you?"

When Sasuke avoided his gaze, he knew he had his answer.

"Jesus Sasuke. It's been year! We can't keep going through this." Shaking his head, he moved on to the more pressing matter. "What the hell do you mean you sent him away?"

"Exactly that," Sasuke replied snottily. "He messed up so I kicked him out. I hope he dies somewhere. I never want him to come back. I don't care if I have to repeat this grade again. I will not put up with him." He muttered less than convincing as his eyes shifted away from his brother.

"Well that's too damn bad. He's the first person to tear an emotion out of your icy asshole in years, so no matter what you want he. Is. STAYING." Itachi growled out, before walking towards the door. Just before he disappeared through the doorway, he paused and his parting words floated over his shoulder. "You may not know it now but that boy is going to be a huge part of your life. And whether you want to admit it or not, you like him and you need him. Go find him and bring him home Little Brother…"

Sasuke stared out the door, a stunned look on his face as he sank to sit on the edge of the bed. Never before had Itachi sounded so sincere about any advice he had given him. The thing that shocked him the most was the endearment he had placed at the end of his sentence. 'Little Brother'. Itachi hadn't called him that with such kindness since the day their parents had died. The things Itachi had said, even though he wasn't able to face him when he said them, were as honest as he ever got. And that was what made him get up off the bed and head out to find the dobe.

However, as he left the house he knew his brother must have experienced some kind of possession by a demon, because he followed him all the way to the mailbox poking fun at how 'Sasuke llloooovvveees Naruto'. And honestly, Sasuke thought he might be right. Why else would he go searching for the other boy at four in the morning?

XxXxXxXxXxX

The sharp chatter of stone on stone filled the air as Sasuke watched the rock he had just kicked skip down the deserted street. He had been out searching for the dobe for nearly an hour and a half and had yet to find a trace of him. He had searched the route the blonde usually took to work but had found nothing. He had done a mile radius of the area around the others' work but again came up nothing. He was walking down a side street, about five miles away from his house and was at the end of his rather extensive rope. If he didn't find any clue as to where Naruto was within the next two minutes he was going to have to call Tsunade and let her know what had happened.

Letting out a heaving sigh, he turned, running a hand through his hair as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Reluctantly punching in a number that he had been forced to memorize, he gazed over at a run down playground that was overgrown with vines. Scoffing at the ugly sight in front of him, he couldn't wait to see it torn down and replaced with the new mall that was supposed to go up in a couple weeks. As he listened to the ringtone fill his ear, he ran his eyes over the eyesore. Suddenly his breath caught in his throat and he ran towards the jungle gym, dropping his phone. Sprinting up the stairs, he skipped to a stop and dropped to his knees beside a pair of neon orange Converse shoes. Leaning down to look into the tube that stretched across the playground, his heart began to pound.

"Naruto!" When the older boy did not respond, Sasuke crawled clumsily into the tube, gracefully falling in a heap near the other boys head.

Peering down into the others face, he saw it was covered in sweat and he was barely breathing. "Naruto!" Tapping him lightly on the cheek, the other still didn't respond. Fear made his heart race so hard it nearly hurt. It couldn't happen like this! He had just found him and he couldn't, wouldn't, let him go. Pressing his hand to the others' chest, he found an arrhythmic beat there and it terrified him.

Leaning forwards, he attempted to push the blonde out of the tube, into fresher air, in an attempt to do anything, but the others' body wouldn't move. Putting all of his weight and strength into his pushes, he tried again only to have Naruto move slightly. Crying out in frustration, he continued to try, nudging the other little by little out of the confined space. By the time the other was half in and half out, he was panting and exhausted. He felt absolutely pathetic. He couldn't even move a boy who was knocked out two feet.

As tears of frustration filled his eyes he clambered out of the tube and raced back to get his cell phone. Snatching it off the floor, he punched his speed dial and ran back to Naruto. Hearing it ring and ring and ring he nearly shouted in his brothers' ear when he did finally pick up the phone.

"ITA-! Ita…ITa!..." He tried to say but his breath kept leaving him.

"Sasuke?" Came his brothers' sleepy voice, becoming more alert when he noticed the inability of his brother to form a single word. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Sasuke gulped down air, desperate to form any word that would clue his brother in on his location. "Naru…found-someth…wrong. Need help…come- 250th Street. **Now**."

With that said he flipped the phone shut and turned all his attention to the boy still in the tube. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he thought of how little he was able to do for the other boy. He knew that he owed the other boy his life for what he had done in the office and no that he had a chance to pay it back he couldn't. Unhindered a memory suddenly broke through the misery that was clouding his mind.

Naruto had been excited to get something to eat and was frustrated with the youngest Uchiha, who was walking ridiculously slow by his standards. Little did he know that the other was doing it simply to annoy him and see the flush of irritation hit his cheeks. So eager to get food and hurry along the raven, Naruto had reached back and grabbed Sasuke's hand within his own. The tan fingers smoothly twined with pale, the motion seemingly utterly natural.

Sasuke remembered being so shocked by the touch that all he had done was stare down and the hand clinging to his. He had been so out of it that he allowed the other to tug him forwards at a pace that was way faster than he had wanted to move. Yet he didn't resist, instead, he clung tighter to the hand holding his so as not to be torn away.

Now, as the other lay ill in the middle of some creepy park, Sasuke realized something. He would do whatever he needed to make the boy laying there, near death, better. Sucking in a breath, he reached down and managed to tug the other out of the tube. Quickly catching his head before it hit the ground, Sasuke maneuvered so that Naruto was laying with his head on his thighs. Leaning forward he pressed his hand against the others chest, quickly shrugging away thoughts that wanted him to notice how firm it was, to feel the heartbeat.

His eyes widened, as a car screeched to a stop at the curb and his brother jolted out from the darkness.

"Naruto! No! No! No!NO! Itachi!" His brother jumped up the steps and after taking a quick moment to feel the blonde's heartbeat, scooped him up and carried him to the car.

Sasuke stumbled after them, his own heart pounding furiously, as if it could make up for the lack of a beat on the blonde's part. He fell into the car, allowing Itachi to place the blonde in the same position as before, before he dove into the driver's seat and peeled rubber to get to the hospital. Sasuke looked down at the other in his lap, and reached over and took his hand, tightly lacing their fingers together. At the lack of response on the others part, he simply gripped tighter, and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "You will not die. Do you hear me? You won't. I won't let you. You need me…and…I need you…" Resting his forehead against the others' he let his free hand fall against Naruto's chest, waiting…waiting to feel that wonderful heart beat again…

Ta.


	8. Random Breakdowns are the Best Catalyst

Hey ya'll. I know its been a long time since I updated and I apologize. I literally and shamefully admit that I forgot about this story. However, I don't want to keep you from the story so please read on. And remember…REVIEW!

WARNING: yaoi, if you don't know what that means, you may be in the wrong place. Also there is violence and other such things a story just cannot be without.

Disclaimer: I gots my computer and a set of wonderful characters…my life is complete. Oh wait…Naruto isn't mine! NOOOOO! * falls over*

Saving You

Ch. 8: Random Breakdowns Are the Best Catalyst

The swish of cloth rubbing against itself filled the air along with the clatter of wheels turning and feet running. These sounds reigned supreme as doctors and nurses ran down the hallway, pushing a gurney with a still, pale body on it. Their scrubs rustled and the wheels squeaked in protest to the rushed pace, but none stopped to appease them. Time was everything and they were out of it.

"…palpitations…need to stabilize…"

"Defib! We need to defibrillate! NOW nurse!"

"Clear everybody! CLEAR!"

"..can't get his heart started…"

"Sir, please. You need to stay here. The doctor will take very good care of your friend."

Sasuke trembled against the arm that blocked him from following Naruto into the Urgent Care Center, his frantic mind barely comprehending the words being spoken to him. Shaking his head, he moved against the nurse talking softly to him, not caring that he wasn't allowed where the blonde had to go. He needed to be with him. _Needed_ to.

Just as he made it past the protesting nurse, a heavy hand fell onto his shoulder. "Sasuke. Stop."

Finally a voice penetrated his crazy mind. Unfortunately it was not the one that he wanted to hear. "Itachi…" he attempted to growl but it came out more of a whimper.

He heard a heavy sigh before his brother pulled him around, his grip tightening on his arms, gripping hard enough to bruise.

"I know you want to be with him right now but you need to calm down. There's nothing more you can do for now. So you need to pull yourself together. I have to go. You called right in the middle of…the night. Control yourself and for god's sake do not tarnish the name of our family! Or I will have you sent to the bottom of a dark, dank pit filled with crap and blood thirsty piranhas. And while they eat your legs off I'll have Deidera at the top of the pit throwing bombs at you." As Itachi spoke, he shoved him slightly, bringing the eyes that had strayed towards the emergency doors back towards him.

Seeing the glazed look over the boy's eyes, Itachi reached up a slapped his brother across the face, hard. Focus slowly seeped in to the onyx gaze and Sasuke eventually nodded slowly. Heaving a huge sigh, Itachi walked Sasuke over to a row of chairs nearby and shoved him down in one.

"Focus Sasuke. Don't embarrass me and for God's sake stay here!"

When all he got was a soft grunt in reply he shook his head and walked away. As he was heading out the doors all that nearby nurses could hear was him grumbling about killing someone.

Despite the abrupt departure of his brother, Sasuke could do little more than think of the blonde he had grown accustomed to having around. It was all he could do to stay in one spot as someone had told him. If he were to be asked a question about the past hour since he had found Naruto there was no way he would be able to answer it. All he could think of was how this was all his fault. If he hadn't thrown Naruto out of his house the dumb boy would never have been put on the street and have to sleep in some tunnel in a park where he di-!

No! He wouldn't, couldn't think like that. Naruto would live. He had to. Even is Sasuke had to drag him back on the fucking operating table. He wouldn't let Naruto leave him alone.

He shouldn't have kicked him out! There was no excuse for how rash and stupid he had been. God! And he had screamed at Naruto. Ugh! It was all his fault. Now they were here in this stupid hospital again. He would give anything to have their positions reversed. He would rather wake up to find himself dead, or stuck in the hospital, which was worse in his mind, every damn day for the rest of his life if it would keep Naruto alive.

He had never meant for any of this to happen. GOD! He shouldn't have kicked him out. He shouldn't have. This was entirely his fault!

His fingers dipped into his hair, dragging it back from his face in a fit of agony. He couldn't believe this was happening. His elbows propped on his knees as his head hung, clasped between his hands in a display of pure anxiety. He tugged roughly on the strands clasped between clenched fingers, a whimper of frustration caught in his throat as he struggled not to let it out. His life was, dare he say, decent once Naruto came into it. Granted they had secrets and skeletons left deep in their respective closets but life had been working. The stupid, idiotic moron had actually brought some semblance or normalcy into his life.

He groaned, deep and low, as his thoughts continued to whirl in a never ending circle. He kept coming back to the fact that this was all his fault. Nevermind the fact that it wasn't he who had made Naruto collapse or stay out ridiculously late or not rent a hotel or something. It was still all his fault.

So lost in his thoughts was he, the Sasuke jumped slightly in his seat when someone near him spoke. Looking up at the murmured, "Excuse me.", he jolted to his feet when he saw that the voice had come from a short nurse with a pretty face and kind hazel eyes.

"Oh! Um…were, were you the one who came in with the young blonde earlier this evening?" she asked softly, eyes blinking furiously after as she stared at the handsome man in front of her.

Swallowing hard Sasuke nodded, trying to hear what she was saying past his rapidly thumping heartbeat.

"The doctors were able to restart his heart but they are keeping him back for a little it longer just to make sure everything is working as it should be. They have gotten him mostly stabilized but just to be sure they are running a couple more tests."

Gulping shallowly, he nodded, his breath finally rushing in to fill his lungs for the first time since he saw the blonde mop hanging out of the tunnel. It took all he had not to drop to his knees and send up a prayer of thanks to every deity listening. Mentally shaking himself, he focused back on the woman in front of him.

"…but they'll be bringing him into a room soon, so if you are family I can bring you up and you can wait for him there."

Quickly nodding, Sasuke made to walk around the lady. However he was stopped, once again, by an arm in front of him.

"Forgive me for asking but _are_ you family? Cause you definitely don't look like it."

Staring at her, Sasuke narrowed his gaze into a glare, as if daring her to say one more word against him. "Yes."

Though she looked dubious, she kept her mouth shut and turned to walk down the hallway to the elevator. The entire ride up was silent though the nurse did keep throwing fervent glances his way, a young wistful yearning in her eyes. However, the young man seemed immune to her looks. She sighed softly before facing forward as the elevator reached the fourth floor.

As the doors swept open, she gestured him forwards quickly telling him, "He is to be placed in room 425 and should be there very soon. If anyone asks who you are just let them know you are family and tell them Sakura sent you here."

Nodding once in acknowledgement of her words, he stepped out of the elevator watching as she waved goodbye as the elevator closed on her before turning and striding hurriedly down the hallway.

418…419…420… The numbers flicked by, their speed increasing as his pace did so as well until he was practically running through the hospital. Jesus, where was the flipping room? Finally after rounding a corner he stopped rather abruptly. Room 425 sat in front of him.

As he stood there, heart beating a freaky rhythm due to an irrational fear that had sudden sprung up in his chest. Taking a step closer he froze as he heard voices emanating from the room. One was complete foreign to him, deep and gravelly, while the other struck a chord in his chest when he heard its melodic tones. It was still deep but where as the other sounded like it had been sucking down cigarettes for the past 45 years of its life, this once was similar to the deep rumble of thunder that you could still hear after a storm had passed. It was dangerous and yet sent an excited thrill throughout his entire body. The smooth way it wove its way around Sasuke's body, as though it were alive, seemed very familiar. Like he had had this thought before…Suddenly images began to flash in his mind.

'_Sasuke, can you hear me?" An oddly soothing bass rumbled into his ears, making him turn towards the pleasant sound with a contented sigh. The sound shook him to his core, sending adrenaline pumping from his heart into his veins at the very sound of it. He giggled quietly when the sound came again, sending shivers up and down his spine…_

…_A brilliant smile spread across Sasuke's face as he watched the boy in front of him. Soon a hoarse sound managed to push its way out of his dry throat, "Naruto..."…_

…_Leaning forward, he pulled on the hair in his hands, dragging their faces close together and with a contented sigh, pressed his lips against the soft, luscious lips in front of him.'_

Sasuke stumbled backwards, catching himself against the wall with one hand while holding his head with the other. His breath came in rasping gasps. What the hell was that? His heart was once again pounding out an abusing rhythm in his chest, except this time he couldn't tell if it was fear or…excitement? What the hell was happening to him? He had no memory like that, and he would never, NEVER act like that when he was in his right mind. The only time he was so relaxed was when he was doped up on painkillers or something. But he hadn't…

Shit! Last time they were at the hospital he had been given drugs. Ugh, his life was so fucking messed up. No wonder Naruto had looked so uncomfortable during his check up the next day. To think he had been freaked when Naruto just kissed his cheek, and here he had been nearly molesting the poor boy.

Pushing himself off the wall with shaking hands, Sasuke stepped towards the door again, schooling his face as that wonderful reached him again. Pushing open the door with a hand that only trembled slightly, Go Sasuke!, he moved inside silently. Standing in a nearby corner, he observed what he could see of the blonde beyond the large build of the doctor who blocked him mostly from view.

From what he could see the blonde looked alright, but considering all he could see was part of the halo of blonde that surrounded the man's head and a bare foot that peeked out from under the covers. Edging sideways anxiously, he tried to get a better view but the damn doctor was so huge he blocked every angle Sasuke could see from unless he wished to alert them to his presence. Biting his cheek in frustration he began paying attention to what was being said.

"So Naruto, have you been doing good? I know we just went over the medical reports and everything but they don't always tell the whole story. So I want to hear it from you. How've you been feeling? You haven't been back here in a while which I'm assuming is a good thing."

Here the doctor paused and Sasuke shuffled again, trying to see Naruto when his voice began to ring out again.

"I've been doing good. In a lot of sports and there's been no injuries really. Only minor stuff that you'd expect from any kid like me. Been eating good like ya told me to do so my weights stabilized. My bruises still stay around for quite a while yet but it's whatever. Can't do much about those so I just wait em out. Um…yeah… Can't think of anything else."

Sasuke's brows furrowed as he listened to Naruto speak. He had never known that the blonde had health issues. Hell, he fought like a demon so there was no way for him to have known. However, a slight pain in his chest alerted him to how betrayed he felt that Naruto hadn't told him. But as he listened to the end of his statement, his head cocked to the side. That hadn't sounded like the truth. Naruto was hiding something. And if the doctor didn't catch it, he would force the boy to tell him, even if it came back to brute force. He wouldn't let the boy harm himself.

Oddly enough, Sasuke found absolutely nothing wrong with that statement. The boy couldn't hurt himself but he could if not doing so would hurt him more…? Sasuke's mind was messed up.

Thankfully though, the doctor either was well acquainted with Naruto to know that he was lying or he had caught the way the boys eyes turned to the window in his lie.

"What about sleeping? It doesn't look as though you've been sleeping enough. Is your insomnia acting up again?"

Naruto shifted in his bed, alerting them to his hesitation in answering before he finally spoke. "Uh, yeah I guess so. I mean, its hard to sleep with the hours I'm working and school put together but when I have the time it just doesn't happen. My mind won't shut up so I just go running or something. Keeps them nasty thoughts away ya know?"

"What about your pills? Have they been helping?"

"…yes?" he let out an awkward chuckle, which quickly morphed into a wet, hacking cough. The doctor moved forward swiftly, holding a cloth over the boys' mouth as he coughed, rubbing circles on his back as he supported him.

Seizing this opportunity, Sasuke moved, hiding himself within the shadows given off by the bathroom door. He knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, having had it beaten into him at a very young age, but he couldn't help himself. Some perverse sickness was hiding in him, pushing for him to learn more about this ridiculous walking Rubik cube, even if he could lose any sort of relationship they had forged so far. He was learning more about the other boy in this hidden corner than he had in their entire lives. He wanted, no, **needed**, to know more.

"Better?" The doctor asked, reaching for a glass of water that he helped the boy to sip from.

Naruto nodded, and the doctor pulled back, resuming the questioning as if nothing had happened.

"So why the question mark when I asked about your pills? You have been taking them right?"

"Yeah, I was but…I- I haven't gotten it refilled lately. No money ya know? Since it didn't seem to be hurting anything, I figured I would push it out. I'll get em, I promise!"

The doctor sighed, reaching up to run a hand down his face. "How long has it been since you took them?"

"Hehe…about…a year and a half? Maybe more?" Naruto responded with a wince, knowing it wasn't the response that the doctor was looking for.

"Naruto! A YEAR! Jesus-! Okay, I'm writing out the prescription and having one of the nurses go get it. You will take it with you when you leave and I'm going to write a note to the pharmacist to call me when the prescription runs out so I know that you're getting them. Do you need the pills for your heart as well?"

Looking down at his clasped hands in shame, Naruto nodded.

"How long have you been going without those?"

"Not long! I swear! Seriously! I thought I had some left when this last attack hit! But then…when I pulled the bottle out of my pocket, they were all gone. I'm so serious right now! It's the one thing I always refill. Cross my heart." He swore, making a cross over his heart.

The doctor studied him long a hard before looking away, beginning to scribble on his pad. "Alright. I'm gonna give you the amnesia pills, the arrhythmia pills and a 7 day pack of corticosteroids to bring down the inflammation in your lungs. It's why you passed out. Got to stressed out and gave yourself an asthma attack which in turn led to your bout of arrhythmia. I'm going to go put these in the system alright? Be back in a few."

Naruto nodded as the doctor left, pulling the door behind him. There was a suspicious lack of the click of it pulling into place but neither really paid attention to it.

The doctor paced down the hallway, taking a quick right and stopping at the computer kiosk that resided there. He typed in his id and code, waiting for it to load. Accessing the prescription link, he typed in what he needed and sent it down to the pharmacy, with all his notes and such. Closing out of the page, he logged off. Leaning back against the wall behind him, he rubbed roughly at a crick in his neck. Lord knows he loves his job but sometimes it really tested him. Especially Naruto…he was such a sweet kid that he been through enough and yet, here he was, back in this same flipping hospital not five years later. It just didn't seem fair.

Letting out a hot breath of air, he rubbed his eyes before straightening up as the computer beeped at him, letting him know that it had successfully logged him off. Opening his eyes he let out a yell and jumped back. Standing before him was a young man with deep black hair and a pissed off expression on his face. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his racing heart before speaking.

"Jesus kid. Give a dude some warning next time or something alright? Now beat it. You're not supposed to be back here."

Instead of doing as he said, the kid just looked at him with an arrogant sneer. "What's wrong with Naruto?"

The mention of his patient brought his head round to the young man with a snap. "I don't believe that's any of your business. Now please, return to the waiting room, or I shall have security escort you from the building."

Silence rode heavy in the air for a minute or two, emotions warring behind the ebony eyes before finally, the boy spoke. "I'm a…friend of his. My brother and I brought him here. We…I, just want to know that he's going to be okay…..Please." he added on as an afterthought, as if he wasn't used to saying the word.

The doctor stared at the boy in front of him. He knew he shouldn't give away patient information however… "I shouldn't be doing this. Confidentiality and all that you know. You say anything to anyone about this and I'll deny ever even meeting you. Got it?"

When the boy just stared at him, he took that as confirmation.

"All I'm gonna tell you is that when he was younger he didn't get the nutrition he needed so his body has some problems from that. His poor physical health ended up resulting in a few minor mental blocks but he's survived and is working through them. A couple accidents when he was younger gave him some ongoing problems to battle but he's dealing with them. Nothing to get your panties in a twist about. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a patient to see."

That said, the doctor walked around the silent boy and down the hallway. Looking back over his shoulder he saw that the boy was following him, an extremely concentrated if not slightly frustrated look on his face. Despite the fact that he was halfway down the hallway from him, it still gave him chills. Running a hand that shook for some weird reason, through his hair he took a moment to compose himself before pushing open the door to Naruto's room.

"Alright kid. The prescriptions are in and should be ready by the time you're discharged."

"Which will be when?" Naruto asked anxiously, fidgeting in the bed. He was tired of sitting here doing nothing.

The doctor checked his watch. "In about…two hours. I want to let that IV finish dripping and make sure your heart is doing what it should be. Oh yeah, I added a pain killer for your bruises so take them if you need them. Don't try to tough it out. Your body has been through enough already. And please _take_ all those pills this time. They don't do any good just sitting on your bathroom counter."

"Don't worry. He will be."

Both Naruto and the doctor yelped and jumped as the quiet voice spoke from the doorway. Naruto nearly fell over as he scrambled to the edge of the bed, carelessly ripping out the IV that was in his hand. Wincing at the pain, he leaned around of the doctor, unable to believe that the person whose voice he had heard was actually here.

"SASUKE?"

Sasuke winced at the loud volume being emitted from one person. "Jesus dobe, calm down."

"BUT-! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"Naruto." Sasuke spoke sternly. "Calm. Down. Who else do you think brought you here?"

Flinching back at the sharp tone in the other's voice, Naruto settled back onto the bed, grumbling as the doctor grabbed his hand and refitted the IV, before muttering, "I'll leave you two alone. Naruto I'll be back in a bit to discharge you. Try not to pull out the IV again."

Nodding absently, the blonde sent a wave in the doctors' direction, all his attention still focused on Sasuke. As they waited for the doctors' footsteps to fade away, an awkward silence descended between the two. Naruto fidgeted awkwardly underneath the silence, realizing that Sasuke had yet to look at him. Finally he couldn't take the quiet anymore and stuttered out the first thing that came to his mind. "Why aren't you looking at me?"

Sasuke tensed immediately, gaze frozen on the floor.

"Sasuke…Sasuke! Sasuke! Look at me!"

Sasuke flinched everytime he heard his name uttered by that sweet voice, his mind instantly flitting back to the memory he had just discovered. Immediately his face began to flush.

"Sasuke! Teme!"

The instant the supposed curse was uttered his head snapped up. Looking at the blonde sitting so innocently on the bed, Sasuke couldn't believe that he was becoming excited as he listened to his name being spoken over and over again, especially since it was being said in anger. "God! Fine dobe! Happy? Just shut up for once." He growled out, fighting to push down the ever-rising blush as the memory of him kissing Naruto continued to play over and over in his mind. Unfortunately he was losing that battle.

Silence was once again king, before being shoved down by the ever vocal boy. "Sasuke-teme…are you…Oh my god… you are! Sasuke! You're blushing!"

The moment that Naruto brought attention it, Sasuke lost his battle and the flush rushed over his cheekbones and down his neck. Even his ears began to turn pink.

Seeing the almighty Uchiha blush was amazing for Naruto. He couldn't help but fall over laughing, not even stopping when the IV pulled harshly on his hand, secured there by the triple taping the doctor had done.

"Shut up dobe." Sasuke muttered. However, there was no real heart behind it. Instead he watched the blonde laugh on the bed. He couldn't believe the change that had take place since the last time he had seen the blonde. He was used to seeing him as strong and buff, ridiculously athletic and healthy looking. But now…The blonde seemed to have lost thirty pounds overnight, leaving him looking like a scarecrow, or worse, Sasuke himself. The image was helped along by the sallow tone of his skin. Sasuke found himself swallowing hard, not at all pleased at the thought. Naruto just shouldn't look like this. There were deep bags under his eyes that he hadn't noticed before. That, combined with his now gauntly appearance, made him look so similar to a cadaver it was scary.

The real thing that stopped his heart was revealed as Naruto rolled around on his bed, laughing himself to tears.

When admitted to the hospital they had taken his clothes and give him a hospital gown, one that was little more than a sheet that tied in the back. So of course any sudden movement would reveal some skin that most people would be embarrassed about having shown. However, Naruto either didn't realize this or simply didn't care as he continued to roll about, flashing body parts for the whole room to see. Thankfully Sasuke was the only one there.

At first when the skin was shown, Sasuke's mouth had gone dry at the sight of the all the smooth skin on display. Though the blonde was little more than a shadow of himself right now, there was still enough of a promise in that body that it had his heart racing to win the Kentucky Derby. However, as the gown shifted sideways it revealed more of the boy's torso. And it was this view that had Sasuke's breath catching and his heart falling flat just as it reached that 10 meter line in the final stretch of the race.

Covering virtually every inch of the blonde's stomach and chest were a multitude of bruises. They varied in color, ranging from the deep purple of an egg plant to the sickly green yellow that would hurt only if poked. It was truly saddening to see that they blended into one another. Whatever was causing this was certainly giving the blonde no peace. The thing that hurt Sasuke the most was that there were some that looked as if they just happened minutes ago; a deep, startling red that was raised above all the others.

Swallowing back a cry of alarm at their appearance he coughed slightly to get the blonde's attention. There was no chance of him laughing at him as the blush was completely gone. The sight of those bruises had taken all coloring out of Sasuke's face and threatened to bring his stomach out along with it. Still chuckling softly to himself, Naruto straightened up, adjusting the gown merely out of habit. One look at the raven's face quickly brought his humour to a halt.

"Dobe…where did you get those bruises?" he asked quietly.

The moment the question was uttered, Naruto's back went ramrod straight and his gaze was glued onto his lap. Moments passed, a tense silence settling between the two, only to be abated when Naruto answered that question. However, it didn't seem to be waved away soon as Naruto was refusing to talk or even look at him.

"Dobe! Answer." Sasuke growled, taking a threatening step closer.

"No! I don't have to tell you shit teme, so go fuck yourself!"

Sasuke snarled at the insult, lunging forward. He vaulted onto to bed, pinning the struggling boy there with his hands encircling his wrists. "Tell me! NOW NARUTO! If someone's beating you it's not okay! I'll beat them within an inch of their lives, so help me!" Keeping his wrists pinned with one hand, Sasuke reached down with the other and tugged the gown up, disregarding the fact that he was baring the other to the room. He traced the exposed bruises lightly before looking back up at the blonde. "Tell me."

Naruto twisted underneath the smaller man, knowing that he was stronger than he looked but jeez! "Ouch! Let go teme!"

"Not until you tell me! Who the fuck's been doing this to you?"

"What the hell do you care? It's not like you haven't done the same!" Naruto screamed back, pressing up against the harsh grip on his wrist.

Sasuke reeled back as if the boy beneath him had punched him physically. "That's-"

"What?" Naruto basically screamed, tears threatening to spill over onto his cheeks. "It's not the same? How is it not? Just cause one is you and the other isn't? So it's alright if you beat me but not if someone else does? How fucked up are you? Now let me go!" he bucked his hips upwards, catching the raven off guard and successfully knocked him off top and loosened the grip on his wrists.

Sitting up Naruto shoved Sasuke off him entirely. Unfortunately he had either used too much force or Sasuke was totally caught off guard by his previous statement as the other went tumbling backwards off the end of the bed, catching the metal tray elevated there. The loud clang that ricocheted through the room was accompanied by swift footsteps approaching the room in the hallway.

Naruto quickly righted his gown, scurrying back under the security of his clothes. Having his bruises exposed…it made him feel dirty, ashamed. Especially since it was Sasuke that had seen them. He didn't know why it made such a difference but it did. It hurt to know that someone he knew had seen what he saw as one of his biggest failures.

Just as he reached up to wipe away the tears that had finally begun to make tracks down his cheeks, the door was wrenched open. His doctor stood in the door gazing from him on the bed, wiping away tears, to the spot on the floor where Sasuke had landed he assumed. Speaking of Sasuke…why hadn't he popped up already? Leaning toward to end of the bed, where the doctor was now kneeling, he saw a blur of red.

Holy shit! Falling back onto his bed, he quivered as the doctor slowly helped Sasuke back onto his feet and over into a chair. The pale boy's face was covered in blood. It spilled down his face in rivulets from a split in his eyebrow. Naruto swallowed hard as he watched the doctor clean the blood up and inspect the wound.

"Hm, I'm going to have to give ya a few stitches. You want numbing or not?"

Sasuke just shook his head, holding Naruto's gaze with him own during the entire thing. Not even flinching away when the doctor began to stitch him up. Just gazing into those deep blue eyes that began to shimmer with tears halfway through the doctor's quick job.

"Alright you're good. So who wants to tell me what happened? Naruto?"

The blonde just shook his head, turning away from the man and laying down on his side, burying his tears in the pillow.

Just as the doctor opened his mouth to pester the blonde more Sasuke spoke. "I tripped over his IV stand and hit the table. He's just a wimp and was crying because the IV got ripped out again."

The doctor looked at Sasuke's blank face and raised an eyebrow. "Uhuh…Naruto, is that what happened?" he asked the moping lump on the bed.

The mop of blonde moved slightly as he confirmed Sasuke's lie.

The doctor gazed between the two of them, obviously doubting the two but unable to prove otherwise. "Mm…then why was I informed that there was yelling coming from this room?"

Casting a sharp look at the bed Sasuke saw Naruto freeze, before rolling over quickly, opening his mouth. "I want to know why he has bruises covering the entire expanse of his torso."

Th doctor's brows furrowed before his gaze flew to the blonde. "Naruto, slide down your shirt."

"But-"

"Now." He uttered with complete seriousness.

Gritting his teeth and glaring at Sasuke, who looked back smugly, Naruto reached back and untied the gown, letting it gather around his waist. The doctor sucked in a sharp breath when he saw the number of bruises covering his body.

"Naruto…these are not from your blood vessels bursting. There are far to many for that. Why didn't you mention it before. What's happened to you?" he asked, pressing gently on various parts of his anatomy to make sure nothing was broken.

Naruto sucked in a gasp when the doctor hit a particularly sore spot. "Nothing! I fell okay? Can I go now? I'm tired of being accused of things."

The doctor frowned but moved away. "Mm, fine. But if you start coughing up blood or feeling any sort of pain go straight to the emergency room. Take your pills and try to take it easy. This much stress is just too dangerous for your body right now. And you," he said, pointing a finger at Sasuke. "Make sure he actually does these things alright?"

Sasuke nodded an affirmative, his gaze still locked on the stuttering blonde. Shaking his head, the doctor left the room.

"Let's go dobe. Get dressed. We have things to do." Sasuke finally muttered as he stood, clutching the wall for support as his head throbbed before walking out the door to give him some privacy.

Naruto sat gaping at the door, unable to believe what had just happened, until Sasuke's voice called through it. "You have five minutes. If you're not dressed and ready in that time I'm dragging you out of there whether you're clothed or not."

Hearing the very real threat in that statement Naruto leaped into action. Quickly scooting off the bed he allowed the untied gown to slide off his body to gather in a puddle of fabric at his feet. Grabbing the clothes that had been given back to him at some point, he struggled into them, holding a groan behind clenched teeth as he arched a way his body didn't want him to. Just as he was pulling his underwear up, he heard the door give its tell-tale click, alerting him. Whipping around he tripped on his underwear and ended up in a groaning heap on the floor with his boxers around his knees. And that is how Sasuke found him, when he walked in carry a bag full of prescription bottles.

Sasuke's gaze instantly found Naruto splayed out on the floor, boxers hanging well below where they were supposed to. This led to the second time Sasuke had blushed in one day, a rare occurrence, but rather than whipping around and declaring how stupid the blonde was for not even being able to put on his underwear, Sasuke stared.

He had never seen another man's penis beside his own. He was shocked to find that the tan that covered Naruto's skin was indeed, all-covering. Naruto was also slightly smaller in length than he was, but made up for it in width. He couldn't image that going the places sex ed told them about. His mouth went dry as Naruto's cock twitched slightly in a breeze the swept through the room from the open door.

Suddenly it clicked in his mind that he should **not** be staring at his classmates' penis. It was weird and awkward. So, with great willpower on his part, he tore his entranced gaze away from Naruto's penis and up to his face. He was amused to find that it was beet red and hidden slightly within the crook of his arm.

Suppressing a laugh at the blonde's ridiculous behaviour, Sasuke walked over to the blushing boy. Honestly, what dude when completely exposed chooses to cover his face? Squatting down by his side, Sasuke leaned over and swiftly and professionally pulled the boy's boxers up. Naruto, feeling the other's hands near his groin quickly sat up, pushing Sasuke's hands away with a blush, avoiding his gaze.

"I-I got it. Thanks."

Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement before wrapping his arm around Naruto's shoulders. "Come on, I'll help you dress. Or balance you." he added quickly when he saw the boy was about to protest. "You're obviously still too sore to be doing it by yourself."

Naruto blushed at the sexual content of Sasuke's statement but accepted gratefully none the less. Truth be told, it hurt like a bitch to even bend in the slightest. While he was pretty sure nothing was broken, there were definitely some bruised ribs to go with the set on his skin. Silently, the two maneuvered him into his clothes, Sasuke acting completely professional, before he moved away. Despite his completely blank façade, underneath his was fighting back the completely irrational urge to touch the blonde. Finally he turned around and grabbed the bag he had brought in before.

"I got your meds. Let's go."

Nodding, Naruto slowly followed the raven out down the hallway and through the lobby. Upon reaching the pick up spot, Sasuke pointed to a bench before walking away, presumably to get his car. Wincing in discomfort Naruto made an effort to sit before giving up all together and stood waiting for the car.

Within minutes Sasuke was back, hopping out of the drivers' seat to open Naruto's door and ease him into the passenger seat. Grumbling under his breath, "not a girl bastard." Naruto leaned heavily on the arm Sasuke lent before he sat carefully in the seat. When nothing protested too violently he relaxed into the cushiony seat, closing his eyes.

Moments later Sasuke was seated in his own seat and the car was moving. The gentle rocking of the car as it maneuvered through traffic was the best drug Naruto had. However, he struggled against it, his head bobbing as he fought to stay awake, something that literally never happened.

"Sasuke.."

"Hn."

"Where are we going…"

"Home."

"Home..?" he asked blearily, not understanding what Sasuke meant. He had no home.

Sasuke stiffened, realizing his mistake before quickly murmuring, "My house. You have to go there due to our punishment remember?"

"Oh yeah…hey Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"Thank you…"

Sasuke blinked before asking, "For what?"

When there was no reply, he glanced over only to find the blonde asleep in the seat, head lolling against the window. Unbeknownst to him a small smile crept its way across his lips as he turned back to the road.

Little did he know, the blonde wasn't actually asleep. In his mind Naruto answered the question, _'for caring enough to come for me.'_

XxXxXxXxX

Roughly a week had passed since he had been rushed to the hospital and to Naruto it was one of the worst weeks of his life. Ever since Sasuke had found out he had health troubles he had been babied. It was the worst thing he had experienced. Seeing the pitying look in the usually unforgiving and hardass Uchiha's eyes made him want to cringe. And nothing he did could wipe it out. Purposely picking fights with him simply got him a scoff and an eyes roll. Using up all his expensive hair gel, nothing. Breaking the most expensive vase he could find in the whole house hold, nada. Setting the kitchen on fire? A stare. A stare for god's sake! He had tried to burn down the house and all he got was a stare! And a stare filled with pity and compassion, things he did not want.

Thus he avoided the house like it was the plague. He had skipped one day of school, and thanked the heavens above for the four day weekend that they had. It allowed for him to go without seeing the stares and hearing the whispers that would echo through the hallway as he walked through them. But since he couldn't go to school, Sasuke's house or even his house due to the punishment he spent nearly every hour of his day at work.

When he first began working all day long, Jiraiya had pulled him aside, and questioned his purpose but when the blonde just shrugged and muttered something about needing the hours, the old man had decided to leave it alone. He could use all the help he got, gave him more time to research. The way Naruto figured it though, he was preparing to take over for when the old man kicked the bucket.

As he bussed tables, his mind continued to whirl, always coming back to the stupid Uchiha that had somehow managed to wiggle a way into his life. He hadn't been back to the Uchiha's house in nearly four days considering he was the first to open the restaurant and the last to close it. Put in the hours that the shop was open most days and it left him with about four hours to sleep, but he hadn't done so. Instead he would wander the streets, thinking things he had already thought about, trying to come to a conclusion about what to do. It never worked. Instead he wound up back where he started, working in the restaurant, smiling happily at the customers as he took their order and then taking out his fury at the turn his life had taken on crusted on noodles and cheese when he worked in back. If he had to take a guess, he would bet that Sasuke finally realized that something was wrong mainly due to his continued absence.

He bent to pick up a napkin that had fallen and instantly experienced a bout of vertigo. Clutching at the table he eased himself into the seat, dumping his bucket of dishes onto to table. Resting his head on his folded arms, he attempted to regulate his breathing. Quickly running through the hours in his head, he began to fumble through his pockets for his pills. True to his promise he had been taking them. Unfortunately he could actually tell that he was needing them now. Lately he could feel his heart skipping and waves of dizziness overtaking him, just as he had just experienced. The pills were meant to help prevent the attacks but there was only so much you could do to help your body along when you began to put it through what he was forcing his to endure.

Swiftly popping a pill into his mouth, he swallowed it dry, tilting his head back against the booth's wall to wait out the vertigo. Finally feeling the dizziness recede, Naruto stood up and grabbed his bucket beginning to bus tables again as if nothing happened. Filling up his tub with ease, he strode into the back to empty it and head back onto the floor once again. Unfortunately, a strong hand around his bicep make him stop in his track.

"Naruto. You've been here since five this morning. Take a break. Eat something. I made you shrimp stir fry ramen, so you better eat all of it." Chouji, the spoke, shoving a huge bowl into Naruto's hands in exchange for the busing tub which he easily confiscated.

Sighing, Naruto nodded and headed into the break room that resided in the back. Collapsing into a seat, he began to eat the ramen, groaning as the first bite made its way into his mouth. He quickly began to shovel the food into his mouth. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until the first morsel had touched his tongue. It had been at least three days since he had eaten. It helped that Chouji's cooking was practically sinful it tasted so good.

Slurping up the last of the broth and shrimp bits he let out a long moan that belonged more in a bedroom than in a meal. It had been so long since he had ramen that good. He would have to remember to compliment Chouji, and perhaps put in to have his pay raised, especially if he could like this all the time. Leaning back in his chair, he rubbed a hand over his eyes, feeling the weight of his sleepless nights and days pressing behind his eyes and yet knew he wouldn't sleep. Licking his lips he grunted once more at the delicious flavoring before standing and turning to head back to work. But as soon as he stood his breath caught in his throat and he froze on the spot.

Standing in the doorway to the break room, leaning so casually against the frame it seemed he was a regular in this place, a worker's boyfriend come to collect her from work, was Sasuke. Naruto took in the sight of the person who had been on his mind for five days now. Dark jeans clung to his legs, showing the muscles in startling detail while a red hoodie covered his upper body, shielding it from the cold that was creeping upon the town as winter moved it. He looked perfect in Naruto's mind which was exactly why he had avoided the house for the past couple of days. He shouldn't be thinking like that.

"I didn't know you could make those noises for ramen alone. I swear, it sounded more like a porno." Sasuke teased, a eyebrow quirking upwards in his humour.

Naruto simply swallowed hard, staring at the other. "Why are you here?" he asked, ignoring the only joke he had ever heard Sasuke utter.

Sasuke's smirk faded, replaced by a serious look of determination and he stepped inside the room, closing the door quietly behind him. When Naruto heard the click of the lock, he moved towards to door, reaching to open it. "I have to go. I need to get back to work."

"Naruto."

Upon hearing his name spoken so quietly, the boy flinched, dropping his hand from the handle, head bowed to his chest.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

Rather than avoiding the issue, Sasuke decided to dive right in.

A dangerous silence filled the break room, broken only by the blonde's erratic breathing. There was nothing he could do, nowhere he could go. He had tried to distance himself but the stupid man kept following him. Working insane hours hadn't worked as someone had told Sasuke were he worked, as its location was previously unknown to the raven. As his breathing continued to increase, Naruto realized in the back of his mind that he was going to give himself another asthma attack. Stumbling over to the couch, he sat down heavily, putting his head in his hands as he began to count the moments between each breath. Slowly but surely he began to calm down.

Hearing a creak, he looked up and saw that Sasuke had taken a seat upon the table in front of him.

"You wanna know why I'm avoiding you? You're freaking pity. I hate it. Ever since you saw me at the hospital you've been treating me like I'm a china doll. Look at me! I don't need to be pitied! I've worked all my life and been super independent so no one would do that. I've worked to prove that I can do anything everyone else can. When I saw you in the hospital did I freak out and treat you like a baby for weeks afterwards? Pampering you? Not letting you pick up a toothbrush for yourself? No! Cause I fucking know that it was annoying.

"I just want to be treated like every other teenager; one with no problems or worries. No one else knows about this and I can just bet you that by the time I go back to school, it'll be all over. Every single person, even the ones I don't know, will have heard of Naruto Uzumaki, the kid that has that disease. I can't stand that thought of that!" he cried, lifting his head from where it had fallen into his hands.

"I'm so tired of worrying, and crying and I'm just _so tired_ of _all_ of it. I want all of it stop but it's not going to. My life is all about other people. What they think, what they do and what I can do to make it better. But in this I can't do anything to make it better. I can't change this! I've spent my whole life away from people, being shunned for being the different kid. The one who couldn't do what everyone else could and now that I can, the past might come back to bite me in the ass. My entire life depends on one person. You. You have the ability to tear my life down and you are fucking _pitying_ me!

If I wanted your pity I would fucking act like it! But until I do, just treat me like a normal person!" Naruto sobbed, clenching his hair tightly in fists. "Just wanna be a normal person…" he whimpered out, falling forward.

Throughout the entire confession Sasuke had sat there in silence, listen to what the blonde was unknowing telling him, absorbing every detail. When Naruto began to cry though, he felt like he had been hit by a bus which then proceeded to back over him. However he sat quietly, letting the boy spill his frustrations. But when the blue eyed boy fell forwards, collapsing into his lap he couldn't sit idle.

At first he locked up, unsure of what to do but then he relaxed, leaning forward to wrap his arms around shaking body in his lap. Rubbing circles on his back, Sasuke rocked Naruto back and forth, making soothing sounds in his throat. As Sasuke continued to do what he had seen everyone in his life do, pressing his forehead against the top of Naruto's, he found himself shocked by how much he enjoyed the close contact with the boy who he had been beating on for three years. It puzzled him but he decided to push it aside. There were more important things to attend to at the moment.

Eventually Naruto's sobbing slowed, leaving Sasuke with a sniffling, red-faced blonde. When Naruto tried to pull away in embarrassment, Sasuke just pulled him to his feet, brushing his wet cheeks with his thumbs. Naruto flushed at the gentle touch, turning his gaze to the side, avoiding Sasuke's warm eyes.

"Come on dobe. Let's go."

Sniffing roughly, Naruto rubbed at his itchy eyes. "Why?"

Sasuke grabbed his hand, tugging him along behind him as he opened the door and walked out in the hallway. Gently shoving Naruto towards the punch out box, he grabbed the blonde's coat and nodded at the old man that stood in the hallway watching them. Pushing the coat into Naruto's arms they walked out into the parking lot as the blonde struggled to pull his hoodie with their rushed pace.

Falling into the warm interior of the car, Naruto buckled himself in as the car started up and instantly passed out.

XxXxXxXxX

Waking to the chirping of birds had to be the most annoying way to wake that Naruto had ever experienced. Groaning lowly, he rolled over and buried his head underneath the pillow that his hands captured. When it did little to alleviate the annoyance he reached over to find something to throw at them. But instead of finding something to throw at the damn birds, his encountered something small and soft and warm.

His mind suddenly started to work, the fuzz that encompassed it wiped away in his alarm. He didn't sleep! So where the hell was he? Holding his breath, he rolled over slowly opening his eyes, which widened in shock.

Laying only inches away was Sasuke. As Naruto stared in shock he felt Sasuke's cool and spicy breath flow across his face. Shuddering at the feel he let out a breath, the hand that had touched Sasuke by accident now reaching up to trace the clean line of his nose. Sasuke was so…beautiful. How had he never noticed before. His heart clenched as he continued to gaze at the other man, his eyes following the angle of his jaw into his shoulder and down the slope of his waist till it disappeared under the sheet. It was something that he didn't appreciate and felt himself being tempted to move the sheet.

Then Sasuke grunted slightly in his sleep. Naruto's gaze flew back to Sasuke, his hand snapping back to his side. Fluttering, Sasuke's eyelids opened, his gaze unfocused as he woke up. Unsurprisingly he gathered his wits much faster than Naruto had. Looking back into the ocean blue gaze, he stared at the other, both waiting to see the other's reaction.

Blinking repeatedly, Naruto held the serious gaze before clearing his throat. In a voice still jagged with the longest sleep he had had in a long time he whispered, "Hey…"

Sasuke stared at him a moment before blinking slowly and smirking. "Dobe…" He rolled over onto his back, and threw and arm up over his eyes, breath evening out as if he intended to fall back asleep.

Naruto fidgeted in his spot, unsure of what to do. "Sasuke…"

Before he could find the words to say he was interrupted.

"Dobe…just go make our breakfast." Sasuke murmured, rolling his head to the side slightly as he looked at the dobe out of one eye.

Naruto scoffed at the demand, leaning over to punch the teme in the stomach, though not as hard as usual, before he kicked off the covers. "Don't tell me what to do teme."

As the blonde began to walk across the room, he heard Sasuke fake a groan of pain and though he grumbled all the way out of the room, he couldn't hide the smile that broke across his face as made it to the hallway. Things were finally back to normal.

Or…as normal as they ever were around the two of them.

Yay! I finished it. This is officially the longest chapter I have ever written. I discovered the other day that I have been working on this story since 2006. It's the longest I've ever stuck with a story. I know that there are huge gaps between updates but hopefully since it's summer I'll be able to update at least two more times. I just have to think of what happens next. If ya'll have any suggestions, let me know in a review!


	9. Chapter 9: Whispers of Truth

Saving You

Ch. 9: Whispers of Truths

The chiming of an alarm filled the room, quickly to be followed by a groan and the sound of something breaking. Sheets ruffled as a body turned over in the huge bed that was centered in the middle of the room. Creaking filled the room as the weight on the bed shifted slightly, before a loud bang filled the room.

"Naruto. Get up. School."

A tuft of blonde hair poked out from underneath the huge pile of blankets as foggy blue eyes peered at the body standing in his doorway.

"…No." croaked a sleepy voice, before the eyes disappeared back beneath the mound.

Sasuke stared at the bed for a minute, running his toothbrush along his teeth, munching on the bristles as he paused.

"Now. You have seven minutes before I leave and you get to walk to school. …and if you don't show up today expect a beating from me when I get home." That said he turned on his heel and left, no doubt going to get ready for school.

As the door clicked shut behind him, blue eyes peeped out from underneath the blankets again. As much as he hated getting up early for something as stupid as school, he knew that Sasuke was being entirely serious about kicking his ass. Neither of them had been to school for nearly a week, and while it wasn't that big of an issue for Sasuke, he was a different matter entirely. Missing even ten minutes of class often had poor consequences for his grades.

Grunting in the back of his throat, he struggled his way out of the blankets. He rolled off the edge of the bed, thinking that he would land on his feet, but failed to realize the blankets were wrapped around his ankles and waist. Face planting on the floor was always his favorite way to wake up in the morning.

Wincing, he stood and while rubbing his now bruised nose walked over to the closet and pulled out an outfit. Aimlessly pulling it on, he worried over his lip, biting it as his mind began to trace through the fears that had been his reason for avoiding school for so long. He was worried about how people would react when he finally showed up. Though the only people that should know about his condition were Sasuke and the doctor, he had a feeling that it would be known by all. The one thing he absolutely didn't want was people pitying him or abandoning him like had happened so many times before.

Staring down at his feet, he made his way out of the room, down the stairs and out into the garage where Sasuke sat waiting for him in the car. Numbly climbing into the car he ignored the curious look sent his way; he swallowed hard as the engine roared to life. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to do this. He COULDN'T do this!

As he began to panic he turned to Sasuke to tell him to let him out, but froze when he saw the daunting peaks of their school. Continuing to chew on his lip, he bit down harder as his agitation grew, biting through it in one clean shot. Flinching in shock, he let out a groan as the pain finally broke through his panicking mind. His tongue flicked out to swipe at the blood that was spilling over his lip and down his chin when a warm touch had him jumping in fright and his gaze only then moving from the building that was the bane of his existence at that moment.

Looking over, he saw Sasuke frowning in concentration as he wiped away the blood that was oozing from his busted lip. "What the hell did you do that for dobe?"

Suddenly his mouth was impossibly dry and he swallowed hard as he stared into those obnoxiously deep onyx eyes. His breath stuttered out softly, and he was suddenly aware of the distance that separated them; which was none at the moment. He literally could lean forward and touch those plush lips in front of him with his own. But he wouldn't because…because…why wouldn't he?

All of a sudden he realized what he was thinking and jerked back away from the soft fingers that were examining his wound. Licking his lips nervously, he hissed as he hit the hole in his lip. The man in front of him captured his attention once again when he began to speak.

"Way to go dobe. Now we have to go to the nurse so we can get that stitched up." Shaking his head, Sasuke grabbed his bag and climbed out of the car, shutting the door in his wake.

Naruto stared after him, mouth hanging open slightly while blood trickled down his chin, splattering on his hands where they lay in his lap. The whoosh of a door opening jolted him out of stupor and he looked over to see that Sasuke had opened the door for him and was standing there looking at him, a hand held out for him. Looking around he saw that despite the fact that they had arrived nearly an hour early, there were still people there. And they were watching them curiously.

Fearing the reactions that might ensue if he grabbed Sasuke hand, he hesitated before looking up at Sasuke's face. Watching the expressions that ran through Sasuke's eyes before they went cold and his hand started to drop, Naruto realized he didn't want to disappoint Sasuke. So before the hand fell too far, he reached up and grabbed it, allowing the other to hoist him out of the car after a moments' pause.

Staring up into the other's face he pushed down his rising fear of reprisal from the other students and smiled brightly. "Thank you Jeeves."

For all his humor he simply got an eye roll and scoff at the action as blood rolled down his chin as a result. "Come on. We've got thirty minutes until school starts and thanks to you attacking yourself we've got a stop to make."

Naruto rolled his eyes at the raven before walking around him, starting on the well-known path to the nurse's office. "Alright Mr. Moody. Let's go then."

They managed to make their way to the nurse's office with little confrontation; the only fighting was friendly banter back and forth between the two, usually kept up by the boisterous blonde. The nurse had frowned when he arrived at his office only to find them waiting but since it was a sight he so often saw there was no questioning. With quick precision and little pain, he stitched Naruto's lip while scolding him lightly at the same time. However his words were left to deaf ears. The entire time the two boys made faces at one another, silently continuing their banter. After the stitching was done the nurse contemplated scolding the boy once more but deemed it a lost cause as his attention was elsewhere. Shoving them out of his office, he sighed while shaking his head as he watched Sasuke pull Naruto into a headlock that was allowed with minor complaints. Those two were so lost as to what they were feeling for each other it was hilarious.

Rounding a corner, Naruto laughed as he shrugged Sasuke off him before stopping in his tracks when he saw that hallway was packed with students. Within seconds he became introverted, falling in on himself as he shied away from meeting anyone's gaze. It was nearly impossible to see the happy, bubbly boy that had been there mere moments before. The change was so obvious that Sasuke stared over at him in puzzlement.

Scanning the faces around them, he couldn't find anyone that was giving the blonde the stink eye or who seemed particularly threatening that would be able to scare him into such submission. Looking back at the other, Sasuke opened his mouth to question the sudden oddity in his behavior when a whispered conversation reached his ears.

"Look at em…"

"It's just weird."

"Who does he think he is?"

"Sasuke deserves better than that whore."

"Did you hear about him? I heard that he's got some sort of disease…"

A scowl crept across his face, leaving anyone who looked his way to turn away in fear. Glaring at everyone near them, he looked over at Naruto and saw a deep flush had crept up his neck and that his eyes were shiny with tears. Fury made his lips thin out to a barely recognizable shape, and his nostrils flared as a wave of unexplainable protectiveness crashed over him. Biting the inside of his cheek so hard he tasted blood, he followed closely behind the blonde as he made his way to their first class. Silence seemed to creep alongside them as they moved, people ceasing their conversations as they passed only to pick up again moments later with momentum.

Stepping into the classroom had never been such a relief for Naruto. He had expected people to know about his illness but to actually have his suspicions confirmed was another thing entirely. He hadn't expected it to hurt so much. What he hadn't expected was to hear people calling him a whore for being friends with Sasuke. For some reason, that was the comment that had hurt him the most.

Slowly making his way to his customary seat, he kept his head down, avoiding the gazes of those who were already in the room. Sinking into the seat, he stared at the wood in which he had craved many things during his boredom here. A light touch to his shoulder had him jumping as if someone had stuck his finger in a light socket. Turning around with wide eyes, he came face to face with Sasuke.

Looking into those unblinking dark eyes, he bit his lip nervously. He was so captivated by those eyes he almost missed what Sasuke was saying to him.

"-don't let it bug you okay? None of them know shit."

Nodding, he forced a small smile, thankful for the pale boy's pathetic attempt at consoling him. However, despite that fact that they were mundane words repeated by everyone, he felt special that Sasuke actually cared enough to make an attempt to relieve his anxiety. Turning back to face the front, he settled in to his seat, acknowledging that there were more eyes staring at him, them, but discounting it. They were of no importance. As long as he knew there was at least one person who wouldn't judge him or treat him differently because of his sickness, he would be alright. He nodded to himself as he began to trace a new doodle on his desk top, falling back in to the same routine that he had followed every day. The only difference being the new person in his life.

XxXxXxXxX

The behavior continued throughout the day, making Naruto wince every time he heard the nasty comments people were making about him. Despite the fact that the nasty behaviour followed him everywhere he went, he managed to at least pretend it didn't bother him. This was only because he stuck to Sasuke like gum on a thirteen year old girl's braces. Hiding behind the shadow that the raven cast, Naruto managed to show up to school for the entire week, though he was very unhappy to do so.

Each day the rumors would increase and thus the time he spent with Sasuke would increase as well. It did nothing about the rumors that were circulating about the relationship between the two however. That was the one thing that was constantly grating on Naruto's nerves. There were ridiculous ideas about the two of them being passed throughout the school. They ranged from ideas that he was blackmailing Sasuke into being his bodyguard to ones where he was Sasuke's slave because he'd broken something and couldn't pay for it, and freakily enough ones that suggested Sasuke had somehow gotten him pregnant. Among these rumors were also minor truths, such as his illness and his staying with Sasuke, but oddly enough there wasn't the one truth that he may have actually wanted them to say. That he and Sasuke, despite all odds, had actually become friends, and that occasionally it seemed, something more.

Flopping down onto the wooden bench, he let his head fall into his hands. All these thoughts were rolling around in his mind throughout the week and just weren't letting up. He hated that he didn't know what was going on between Sasuke and himself. The more he thought about it the more confusing it became. Groaning in frustration he made a mental decision. Fuck what people thought. He and Sasuke were just friends. He would take the new step in their relationship without questioning because, right now, he could use any less confusion he could get.

The new trimester of school had started on Wednesday and with it, tryouts for the winter sports. Normally, he wouldn't have worried about it but what with the rumors spreading and everything, his concentration was seriously lacking. He wasn't sure how his new reputation was going to affect how the tryouts for the downhill ski team. It was such an expensive sport there was no way for him to pay for it so he had to place on the Varsity squad just to be able to qualify for the reduced fee. The entire week so far had been tryouts for him and right now, he was just exhausted. It was Friday so he had done all he could and now just had to hope.

Nibbling gently on his recently split lip as he thought; he looked up as soon as he heard a metallic chink in front of him. Sitting down across from him was Kiba. He stared in shock. He hadn't seen the dude since the whole beat down in the cafeteria a few weeks ago except for when they had tryouts for skiing. But even then, he hadn't come close enough to talk to or even do anything to show he wanted to interact with the blonde. So Naruto had kept his distance.

Eyes shifting side to side nervously, Kiba finally spoke to the kid who he claimed was his best friend. "Hey."

Naruto blinked before all the rage and frustration inside of him imploded. "HEY? THAT'S ALL YOU CAN FUCKING SAY TO ME YOU DUCHE BAG? I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN 5 WEEKS. 5! DO YOU KNOW THE SHIT I'VE GONE THROUGH?" he pushed forward, talking over the other when he opened his mouth to defend himself. "No you don't! I needed my friend! I needed my best friend to sit there and defend me and listen to the shit! But you weren't there! Do you know what I thought when I came to school and heard people talking about my illnesses? I thought you'd fucking ratted me out. Do you know how much that hurt? I trusted you with something that no one else knows and I heard about it being blabbed all over the school! MY PERSONAL LIFE! What? Wasn't it fun enough for you to see me hurting? Why didn't you tell them about the abuse too? Huh? I trusted you…" he ended with a whimper, sliding back down into his seat from where he had burst up onto his feet to scream at the other, covering his face with his hands as tears finally broke past the dams he had erected.

Kiba stared at his best friend who sat across from him sobbing so hard his shoulders shook. It was hard to see his friend hurting and to be unable to do anything about it. Clenching his fists, he vaulted the table and straddled the seat next to Naruto, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto…it wasn't even like that. I swore to you that I would keep your secret when you told me. Nothing has changed. I promise. Naruto…" he shook the shoulder underneath his palm slightly, bringing the watery blue gaze up to his. "I swear on Akamaru's life that I will _never_ tell anyone your secret, no matter what. I haven't been here for you but…I didn't know what to do. You didn't tell me anything about what was going down and all of a sudden you start hanging out with that stuck up bastard you've always claimed to hate. You just stopped talking to me. It was a hit in the gut to me. But-" he went on as Naruto opened his mouth to deny it. "It was still both our faults. I should've been there for you, and you, you dumb idiot, should have known that you can trust me with anything. So, from now on, we'll tell each other whatever is going on and trust. It's what best friends are for, yeah?"

Naruto smiled at his best friend through bleary eyes, sniffling before pounding the fist proffered to him. "Yeah."

They looked at each other and started laughing, softly at first, hesitant, testing, then louder and boisterous, happy there was someone who understood. Jostling each other playfully, neither heard the sound of someone coming up upon the scene. The sudden clearing of a throat drew them out of their happy moment, both looking over at the source of the sound. Naruto blanched while Kiba turned an awkward shade of red and blue. Standing in front of them was Sasuke; looking fairly cross about something.

"Sas-Sasuke."

"Uchiha…"

Sasuke's gaze narrowed as he took in the new addition to the blonde's side, a person he vaguely remembered as someone Naruto used to hang out with, and the redness that rimmed his eyes. "What the hell happened?" he asked in a low voice, a thread of malice creeping into it.

"Nothing teme. Just forget it. We worked it out." Naruto responded quickly, before the raven could do anything drastic. He stood up and took the few steps to the raven's side, grabbing his bag in the process. Walking past the raven, he paused, "Let's go teme. Places to be."

When the other turned and brushed past him, Naruto looked back at Kiba, who still sat frozen and mimed texting on a phone. The brunette nodded stiffly, still shocked at the protectiveness that had exuded from Sasuke when he saw that Naruto had been crying.

Blinking slowly, Kiba watched as his friend hurried to catch up to the stoic raven, nudging his shoulder when he finally caught up to him. Surprise covered his features when Sasuke just reached over and flicked the blonde's cheek, smirking. Well, that was interesting.

XxXxXxXxX

Tilting his head up towards the sun shining down on him through the window, Naruto smiled. This was the best he had felt in a long time. Venting everything to Kiba and realizing that he still had at least one friend, made all his troubles seem a little less prevalent. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed happily as it massaged his scalp, something he always enjoyed.

"So you going to tell me what the old lady wanted?" he asked as he rolled his head over to look at the moody bastard who was driving.

A silent glare was his response as they whipped around the corner, the tires squealing as they tried to find traction on the icy surface. Naruto yelped as he slid into the door, hard, before righting himself and staring at Sasuke.

"What in hell's bathroom crawled up your leg and bit you in the ass?" he questioned exasperatedly, bracing himself against the door as they whipped around another corner, entering Sasuke's neighborhood.

His question was ignored yet again as they slid to a stop in the driveway, Sasuke slamming the car into park, and turning to exit with a speed previously unknown to man. Naruto lunged forward, his hand closing around Sasuke's wrist.

"Stop. Listen to me, damn it. What happened? Why are you acting like this right now?"

The pale man tugged on his arm, attempting to pull it out of the tan hand that captured him but to no avail. Naruto stared at the thin frame, noticing that Sasuke seemed much more vulnerable at that moment. His head was bowed, his shoulders hunched over and the domineering aura that had always surrounded the obnoxious man was…gone. And without it, Sasuke seemed so fragile and breakable. Feeling a heaviness in his chest at the thought he clambered across the middle console of the car, pulling Sasuke back into the car by the hand on his wrist.

"Sasuke. Stop." He leaned his head against the headrest as he stared at the smaller man's back. He could feel the heat emanating off the man's form, his body soaking it up with relish. How someone so tiny could be such a furnace was a mystery to him. Granted, in the month he had been staying at Sasuke's place the guy had been filling out a little bit. No longer were you able to see the ligaments holding his arm and wrist together. He was still a little too thin for Naruto's comfort but since he had no investment in the boy himself it was pointless. Yeah, because Naruto didn't care what happened to the teme at all.

"What do you want dobe? I'd like to get in my house before tomorrow comes."

Naruto jumped slightly, so lost in his thoughts about the other's health that he hadn't realized how long he sat there staring. Clearing his throat he let go of the other's arm, "Um…just, what the hell happened? Why are you acting like the frigid bastard I met in the beginning of the school year again? What just happened? Was it something Tsunade told you?"

He watched as Sasuke's shoulders tensed up. "Why do you care?"

"It's just…after I talked to Kiba you seemed…" he trailed off, the cogs and mechanics in his head finally kicking into gear for the first time all day. "Wait…is that it? Kiba? Did you not want me talking to him? What the hell bastard! You can't dictate who I talk to or hang out with! So get that idea out of you're head before I knock it out for you! You know what? Fuck You teme! Take that stick that's shoved up your ass-"

"It made me mad to see you crying and it was his fault." The quiet mumble broke through Naruto's tirade, though the dobe almost missed it with how loud he had been yelling.

Naruto froze, trying to wrap his mind around the idea that Sasuke was being a bastard…for…him? "So…you were…being a douche…because Kiba made me cry…and that upset you? You-"

He cut himself off, watching as Sasuke's back tightened up perceptively. It seemed the raven was worried about how he would respond, but honestly…he wasn't quite sure how to act after that little confession. He knew that the whole point of them staying together was for them to get along, but this was a little too much for him. With the way things were going between them lately, it almost seemed like, to him, they were…flirting. Which he would NEVER do with a teme like Sasuke. He liked girls. Girls…with their hourglass figures and their sweet smelling hair and tan lines…

Swallowing hard, he pushed any thoughts about their relationship, whatever it was, to the back of his mind and forced himself to focus on the situation. "Heh," he laughed softly, reaching up to push Sasuke slightly. "I never knew you cared so much teme. I can take care of myself though. You're being so sentimental, it's like you're a girl." He joked, sliding out of the car as Sasuke stepped away.

The raven turned around and scowled at him, obviously not pleased with the blonde's humorous remark. "Shut up dobe. It doesn't mean anything. Forget it."

Naruto laughed, running up alongside Sasuke, nudging his arm as he continued to rib the other boy as they walked into the house. "I'm never going to forget it. Sasuke cares about me!" He giggled, covering the way his heart stuttered a little bit at the thought of someone actually caring about what happened to him.

XxXxXxXxX

Naruto frowned in confusion down at the pass in his hand as he strolled through the halls. He didn't know why he had been sent a pass to see the school's therapist. Last he knew he wasn't crazy. At least, he hoped he wasn't! Oh my god! What if he was? Why hadn't anyone told him? Naruto started fretting, nearly giving himself a panic attack before he realized that he was standing in front of the door to the therapists' office.

Swallowing hard, he knocked ever-so-gently on the door, hoping that the therapist wouldn't hear it and he could run away before something ultimately traumatizing happened to him. Funnily enough, luck was not on his side. The door swung open several seconds later, smoke tumbling out to cover his feet in a sea of ominous gray…or so he imagined. As he stood there, too scared to move, a hand emerged from the wall of smoke and wrapped around his wrist, tugging him into the enclosing cloud. Naruto let out a shout of alarm that was muffled by the door swinging shut behind him.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Sasuke grunted as a heavy weight flopped down on the couch beside him, sending the papers that he had laid out into disarray. Glaring over in the direction of the one who disrupted the work he was focused on he saw an unusual sight. Instead of a bobbing, bright blonde that was ridiculously buoyant, there was a somber, frowning faced man pouting next to him. His eyes narrowed at the sight, pushing away his irritation at the interruption due to how upset his friend was.

"What Naruto?"

The blonde looked up in confusion, his blue eyes glazed over in thought. "Hmm?"

The raven grunted in annoyance before repeating himself. "What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it!" The blonde flashed a quick smile, closing his eyes against the intent stare given his way. Keeping up his grin he reached out and grabbed a handful of papers from in front of the other, anything to keep him from questioning further. Just as he had hoped it distracted Sasuke, who reached for the papers with an exasperated sigh.

"Give em back dobe. I'm trying to study for the test, just like you should be doing. I've seen your biology grade. You definitely need it."

Naruto gave an indignant scoff. "I'll have you know bastard that I've worked hard to keep my grade at exactly seventy-three percent. Do you know how difficult that it to do?"

"No. I prefer to keep my grades at the top of the class so I'll actually be able to do something with my life besides sitting behind a stove at the ramen hut."

Naruto scrunched his nose at the insult, before throwing the papers in the raven's face and shoving his shoulder, sending him toppling ass over tea kettle to the floor. The look at surprise and offense on his face sent the blonde into a fit of laughter so strong it literally took him minutes to recover from it. By that point Sasuke had gather his dignity and his papers, stalking from the room with a glare over his shoulder at the other, which just sent Naruto into another round of laughter.

Naruto wiped tears from his eyes as he finished out his giggles, loving the fact that he got to see the stoic raven in such a vulnerable state. As the last bout of laughter ran out of his system his smile fell from his lips, the humor he found in the situation gone and the serious air he had before returning once again. He stared at the doorway that the pale teen had disappeared through. Without any prompting the problems that had been plaguing him for the day returned to the forefront of his mind.

He didn't understand what was happening between himself and Sasuke. It had been relatively easy between them with only the occasional argument popping up and throwing tension into the mix, but he couldn't really imagine their relationship without them fighting at least some of the time. Their relationship…that was the pestering thought that wouldn't leave him alone and it was all thanks to the damn therapist. Not only had the dude been weird looking to begin with but he also had some weird ideas about him and Sasuke. As if there would ever be a intimate relationship between them. They couldn't go two hours without punching, kicking or shoving one another. When he pointed this out the therapist he had just laughed and shoved him out the door, saying he would understand what that meant in time. He didn't need to think about what it meant. Obviously the two of them fought because they hated each other…right?

The blonde stared at the carpet underneath his feet, his brow furrowing deeply as he contemplated. It was so frustrating! The more he thought about their interactions together and how he felt about Sasuke now compared to how they had been a couple months ago, the more he began to notice the differences. He couldn't honestly say that he hated Sasuke anymore because…well, he didn't. The nasty, bad tempered raven had become one of his closest friends. The other man was really important to him. He just didn't understand how it had happened.

There wasn't anything that the other did that made him so drastically different from how Naruto had perceived him to be three months prior. He just noticed when Naruto was feeling upset, made sure he had all his meds, made him go to school everyday, helped him through his first day back after his recent trip to the hospital, gave him a place to stay…put his hand on his back to steady him when he was nervous, carried him up the stairs when he fell asleep on the couch, held out a hand when he was scared and wanted to run away, stood by him no matter what other people said, and pulling back and smiling so happily after he had pulled Naruto into a spontaneous kiss …

Oh GOD! Naruto leapt up from the couch, the back of a hand pressed against his mouth as his face flushed bright red and his eyes widened. There was no, no, no, no, no noooooo way that was possible. He couldn't actually have feelings for the emotionless, self-centered, bastard of a human being. All that stuff…Sasuke was just being friendly. He was only doing it because they were being forced to spend a lot of time together. Getting closer was nothing too special. It was bound to happen. People spend time together, they get close. Done deal. Yup, that was it. He was not at all attracted to his friend. Nope. He liked girls. Hell, he had been thinking about asking that girl at the hospital out. Yeah, he would do that. Right now!

Nodding decisively, Naruto strode out of the room, running down the hall to the front door. Pulling it open, he sped outside, determined to make good on his impromptu decision to get a date. So involved in denying whatever had been brewing in his chest when he thought of all the kind things Sasuke had done for him in the past, he didn't see the pale teen that peered out from the top of the stairs, watching as he disappeared down the street with a lonely look on his face.


End file.
